Toxic Drift: The Lasting Legacy of Post-World War II Pesticide Use

• Event Date: Tuesday, April 25, 2006
• Time: 7:30 pm (CDT)
• Location: Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL
• Cost: Free Admission

• Talk

Center for Advanced Study
CAS/MillerComm Lecture
"Toxic Drift: The Lasting Legacy of Post-World War II Pesticide Use"

Pete Daniel
Historian and Curator, Division of Work and Industry, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Following World War II, chemical companies put wartime research to use in the domestic market: with the help of agricultural experts, they promoted the use of synthetic chemicals as pesticides. The haunting consequences include children playing hide-and-seek in the mists of DDT produced by a spray truck, ducks falling dead from the sky, and massive fish kills. Pete Daniel will discuss this instance of government failure to protect human health and wildlife, and explore its implications for newer issues such as mad cow disease and genetic engineering.