Dr. Renee Richer wrote: > we have recently become aware of the use of DDT in the > rural areas for the control of head lice in children. > The DDT is applied directly to the head of the child. > This practice was apparently common in the past in > other countries. However, the potential risks from > biomagnification in humans and other animals are still grave. > The Environmental Center would like to develop a project > to address the problem.
What amount and concentration of DDT is applied to each child? How often is the DDT applied? Approximately how many children are treated? What is the approximate density of treated children per square mile? I think you would need to know the answers to these kinds of basic questions before you would have a legitimate scientific basis for proposing that the practice of using DDT on the heads of children poses a potentially grave risk to other animals. Paul Cherubini El Dorado, Calif.
