Scientists have warned that organochlorine chemicals could be suppressing people’s vitamin D levels. The chemical family, which includes the infamous pesticide DDT, is outlawed for agricultural use in the EU, but they are still used in some parts of the world. Having already been linked with development of cancer in humans and the thinning of egg shells in wild birds, the latest damning link was reported in scientific journal PLoS One.

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Following a study conducted in the USA by a US-Korean research team, Duk-Hee Lee of Kyungpook National University in Korea said, “The known associations between vitamin D deficiency and various diseases can be at least partly be explained by the common exposure to organochlorine pesticides.”

The warning comes as, in order to combat the problems of falling efficacy of current chemicals and best the resistant superweeds that have sprung up in several US states, Agchem companies are returning to their earlier, more powerful chemicals. The latest generation of GM seeds in the United States are modified to be resistant to both Glyphosate and the older 2,4-D herbicides.

Organochlorine pesticides were banned in the US, as well as the EU, decades ago, but are still detectable in people because they resist biodegradation in the environment and are lipophilic (they dissolve and accumulate in fat tissues). The World Health Organization still recommends the use of DDT to control mosquitoes in malarial regions and, while there is a global moratorium on spraying it on crops, illegal use in some countries is suspected. 

Commenting on the findings, David Carpenter, director of the institute for health and environment at the University of Albany, New York, said, “'We have known for many years that DDT causes egg shell thinning; since egg shell thickness is regulated by vitamin D, this study shows that the same suppression of vitamin D occurs in humans.” Carpenter said he is concerned about the push to bring DDT back into use as a potent pesticide against mosquitoes and other insects. “It is very important to communicate how harmful DDT is to humans, not just mosquitoes.”

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