Background. In 2000, a Zambian private mining company reintroduced the use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) to\ncontrolmalaria in two districts. From2000 to 2010, DDT had been applied in homes without any studies conducted to ascertain its\nfate in the environment.We aimed to quantify the presence of DDT and its metabolites in the soil and water around communities\nwhere it was recently used. Methods. We collected superficial soil and water samples from drinking sources of three study areas.\nDDT was extracted by QuEChERS method and solid phase extraction for soils and water, respectively. Analysis was by gas\nchromatography-mass spectrometry. A revalidated method with limits of detection ranging from 0.034 to 0.04 ppb was used.\nResults. Median levels of total DDT were found at 100.4 (IQR 90.9ââ?¬â??110) and 725.4 ng/L (IQR 540ââ?¬â??774.5) for soils and water,\nrespectively. No DDT above detection limits was detected in the reference area. These results are clinically significant given the\npersistent characteristics of DDT. Conclusion. DDT presence in these media suggests possible limitations in the environmental\nsafeguards during IRS. Such occurrence could have potential effects on humans, especially children; hence, there is a need to further\nexamine possible associations between this exposure and humans.
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