(Also known as: dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane; tetrachlorodiphenylethane; TDE; p,p'-DDD; ME-1700)
SUMMARY
DDD is a banned and obsolete insecticide that is also a metabolite of DDT. It is practically insoluble in water and is not highly volatile. It is, like DDT, very environmentally persistent in both soils and water. It is toxic to humans through ingestion, inhalation and via skin absorption and has been linked with cancer, is mutagenic and various negative reproduction/fertility effects. It is also an endocrine disrupter. It is toxic to most animal species but data is not abundant.
Data alerts
The following alerts are based on the data in the tables below. An absence of an alert does not imply the substance has no implications for human health, biodiversity or the environment but just that we do not have the data to form a judgement.
Environmental fate
Ecotoxicity
Human health
Environmental fate High alert: Persistent; Potential for particle bound transport: High
Ecotoxicity High alert: Fish acute ecotoxicity: High; Daphnia acute ecotoxicity: High
Human health High alert: Genotoxic; Endocrine disrupter; Reproduction/development effects
GENERAL INFORMATION
Description
A now obsolete insecticide that was formerly used to kill a wide range of insect pests especially those that carry disease. It is also a pesticide transformation product of DDT
Example pests controlled
Mosquitoes; Lice
Example applications
Vegetables; Cotton; Peanuts; Forestry; Public health situations
Efficacy & activity
Not applicable
Availability status
Considered obsolete but may be available in some countries; Banned in many countries
Introduction & key dates
1944, first reported
UK regulatory status
UK COPR regulatory status
Not approved
Date COPR inclusion expires
Not applicable
UK LERAP status
No UK approval for use as a pesticide
EC Regulation 1107/2009 (repealing 91/414)
EC Regulation 1107/2009 status
Not approved
Dossier rapporteur/co-rapporteur
Not applicable
Date EC 1107/2009 inclusion expires
Not applicable
EU Candidate for substitution (CfS)
Not applicable
Listed in EU database
No
Approved for use (✓) under EC 1107/2009 in the following EU Member States
ATAustria
BEBelgium
BGBulgaria
CYCyprus
CZCzech Republic
DEGermany
DKDenmark
EEEstonia
ELGreece
ESSpain
FIFinland
FRFrance
HRCroatia
HUHungary
IEIreland
ITItaly
LTLithuania
LULuxembourg
LVLatvia
MTMalta
NLNetherlands
PLPoland
PTPortugal
RORomania
SESweden
SISlovenia
SKSlovakia
Approved for use (✓) under EC 1107/2009 by Mutual Recognition of Authorisation and/or national regulations in the following EEA countries
ISIceland
NONorway
Additional information
Also used in
-
Chemical structure
Isomerism
Consists of three isomeric forms p,p'-DDD, o,p'-DDD and o,o'-DDD. p,p'-DDD is the dominant isomer.
F3 F = U.S. EPA ECOTOX database / U.S. EPA pesticide fate database / Miscellaneous WHO documents / FAO data, IPCS INCHEM data (US EPA Databases Related to Pesticide Risk Assessment ) 3 = Unverified data of known source
Very persistent
DT₅₀ (lab at 20 °C)
160
Q3 Q = Miscellaneous data from online sources 3 = Unverified data of known source
Persistent
DT₅₀ (field)
-
-
-
DT₉₀ (lab at 20 °C)
-
-
-
DT₉₀ (field)
-
-
-
DT₅₀ modelling endpoint
-
-
-
Note
Environmentally stable
Dissipation rate RL₅₀ (days) on plant matrix
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Dissipation rate RL₅₀ (days) on and in plant matrix
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Aqueous photolysis DT₅₀ (days) at pH 7
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Aqueous hydrolysis DT₅₀ (days) at 20 °C and pH 7
Value
Stable
Q3 Q = Miscellaneous data from online sources 3 = Unverified data of known source
Stable
Note
-
Water-sediment DT₅₀ (days)
-
-
-
Water phase only DT₅₀ (days)
-
-
-
Air degradation
As this parameter is not normally measured directly, a surrogate measure is used: ‘Photochemical oxidative DT₅₀’. Where data is available, this can be found in the Fate Indices section below.
Decay in stored produce DT₅₀
-
Soil adsorption and mobility
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
Linear
Kd (mL g⁻¹)
-
V3 V = ChemID Online Databases; Chemspider; PubChem. (ChemID ) 3 = Unverified data of known source
Non-mobile
Koc (mL g⁻¹)
131000
Notes and range
Literature data ranges 130600 to 131800 mL g⁻¹
Freundlich
Kf (mL g⁻¹)
-
-
-
Kfoc (mL g⁻¹)
-
1/n
-
Notes and range
-
pH sensitivity
-
Fate indices
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
GUS leaching potential index
-2.46
Calculated
Low leachability
SCI-GROW groundwater index (μg l⁻¹) for a 1 kg ha⁻¹ or 1 l ha⁻¹ application rate
Value
5.35 X 10-03
Calculated
-
Note
Estimated concentrations of chemicals with Koc values greater than 9995 ml g⁻¹ are beyond the scope of the regression data used in SCI-GROW development. If there are concerns for such chemicals, a higher tier groundwater exposure assessment should be considered, regardless of the concentration returned by SCI-GROW
Potential for particle bound transport index
High
Calculated
-
Potential for loss via drain flow
Non-mobile
Calculated
-
Photochemical oxidative DT₅₀ (hrs) as indicator of long-range air transport risk
-
-
-
Bio-concentration factor
BCF (l kg⁻¹)
-
-
-
CT₅₀ (days)
-
-
Known metabolites
None
ECOTOXICOLOGY
Terrestrial ecotoxicology
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
Mammals - Acute oral LD₅₀ (mg kg⁻¹)
113
V3 V = ChemID Online Databases; Chemspider; PubChem. (ChemID ) 3 = Unverified data of known source
A0 A = Chromosome aberration (EFSA database) 0 = No data
;
B0 B = DNA damage/repair (EFSA database) 0 = No data
;
C0 C = Gene mutation (EFSA database) 0 = No data
;
D0 D = Genome mutation (EFSA database) 0 = No data
;
E1 E = Unspecified genotoxicity type (miscellaneous data source) 1 = Positive
✓Yes, known to cause a problem
Reproduction / development effects
Acetyl cholinesterase inhibitor
Neurotoxicant
✓Yes, known to cause a problem
No data found
No data found
Respiratory tract irritant
Skin irritant
Skin sensitiser
✓Yes, known to cause a problem
✓Yes, known to cause a problem
No data found
Eye irritant
Phototoxicant
XNo, known not to cause a problem
No data found
General human health issues
Moderately toxic by ingestion, inhalation and skin absorption Endocrine issues - Competitive binding to androgen receptors Whilst DDD is linked with cancer one particular isomeric form (o,p'-DDD) has been used to treat cancer of the adrenal gland CLP data - suspected carcinogen; US EPA- probable human carcinogen
Handling issues
Property
Value and interpretation
General
Combustible Incompatible with alkalis, strong oxidisers Not expected to auto-ignite IMDG Transport Hazard Class 6.1
CLP classification 2013
Health: H301, H312, H351 Environment: H400, H401
WHO Classification
Not classified: Obsolete (Not classified: Obsolete)
Lewis, K.A., Tzilivakis, J., Warner, D. and Green, A. (2016) An international database for pesticide risk assessments and management. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 22(4), 1050-1064. DOI: 10.1080/10807039.2015.1133242
Environmental fate
