Woman's DDT exposure may affect granddaughter's health, study says
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A long-banned pesticide may be having health effects that ripple across generations, a new study suggests.
At issue is DDT, a once widely used pesticide that was banned in the United States in 1972. That ban, however, was not the end of the story.
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DDT is a persistent organic pollutant, a group of chemicals that are slow to break down and linger in the environment for years. So people can still be exposed to DDT through the food chain, particularly fatty animal products.
In addition, exposure to DDT in the womb has been linked to a number of longer-term health issues, including obesity and certain cancers.