Abstract
BECAUSE DDT is highly soluble in lipids, and therefore stored preferentially in body fat, it is often said to “accumulate in fat”. This phrase incorrectly implies that the storage process is progressive and irreversible. Population surveys have shown no increase in DDT concentration in human fat from US residents over the past 15 yr of continuing contamination of food1–4. Feeding experiments have also demonstrated in several mammalian species, including man, that the storage process is reversible5–9. Identification of the metabolite DDA (bis[p-chlorophenylacetic acid]) in human urine demonstrated the existence of a mechanism for DDT excretion as early as 1946 (ref. 10).
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MORGAN, D., ROAN, C. Loss of DDT from Storage in Human Body Fat. Nature 238, 221–223 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/238221a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/238221a0
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