Re: OT: Old chemical recipes

From: Glenn Simmons <glsimmon@swbell.net>



StorYlade@aol.com wrote:

> Jan,
>
> I grew up on a farm in Arkansas.  My grandparents owned the farm before, during,
> and after the great depression and both died of cancer.  My parents who lived on
> the farm from 1939 on both died of cancer.  I don't remember the year DDT was
> banned, but I know it was long after DDT sprays were used on the farm for
> everything from mosquitoes and ants on up.  There were those in the community
> that threw a fit when it was banned.  (DDT was seen as the salvation of the post
> war farmer and made farming on a large scale possible.)
>
> DDT is one of the things in the environment that all four of my ancestors had in
> common.  It is only speculation that my own cancer can be traced to the same
> thing.  One other environmental factor is tobacco.  Each of the five either
> smoked, chewed, or grew tobacco.  Much of the earlier tobacco was sprayed with
> DDT.  Will they ever have the answers?  Probably not.  At least not in my life
> time.
>
> Remnants of DDT may still remain in family barns and basements, lurking in old
> rusty cans and sealed mason jars.
>
> Betty in Kentucky

Betty, I enjoyed your story.  Sorry to hear you have cancer, I hope it is
treatable?

Betty's story about DDT hit upon a subject that I have been concerned about for
some time now.  How long do some of these chemicals we use remain in the
environment?  How about DDT, what is its life span?  Bill Shear, any other
chemical people out there!  Can anyone answer this?  Another chemical we iris
growers use is Cygon.  How about this one?

Good luck with your cancer Betty.  Linda's mother has been fighting cancer off an
on for over 10 years now.  First it was breast cancer (both at different times),
now it is melanoma (on her face).  The melanoma has been an on going fight,
eliminate one spot then sometime later a new one pops up.  Her doctor has said the
melanoma is due to overexposure to the sun throughout her life.  So watch out for
this, protect yourselves when in the iris garden.

Glenn

--
Glenn & Linda Simmons
Springfield, Southwest Missouri, USDA Zone 6
g*@swbell.net
         or
G*@netscape.net



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