Dieldrin is an insecticide introduced in the late 1940s and banned in 1974. It is one of the most violent, persistent insecticides whose residues appear in significant concentrations in the food supply. It is a strong neurotoxin. It also attacks the liver and causes a rare form of hepatitis.
Dieldrin, one of the most dangerous long-term poisons in the American diet. is found in meat, poultry, dairy foods, and seafood, according to D. Steinman, author of A Diet for a Poisoned Planet. Foods high in dieldrin include beef stea, bacon, beef chuck roast, beef Frankfurters, hamburgers, meatloaf, salami, veal cutlets, butter, cheese, cream cheese, pumpkin pie (one of the highest in dieldrin), peanut butter, soybean oil and other fresh and prepared foods.
Epidemiological evidence suggests that exposure to the pesticide dieldrin, is associated with increased risk of breast cancer and mortality. We hypothesize that dieldrin promotes breast cancer by increasing survival of breast cancer cells [1], [2].
Declining human reproductive health over the last 60 years has been proposed to be due to effects of environmental chemicals, especially endocrine disrupting compounds, on fetal development. British researchers investigated whether pesticide dieldrin, at concentrations within both maternal circulation and environmental ranges (1 pmol/l = 0.0004 p.p.b. = 380.9 pg/l), could disrupt the human fetal testis. Dieldrin altered proteins associated with cancer, apoptosis, transcription and development. Exposure to very low, biologically relevant, concentrations of environmental chemicals could affect the fetal human Leydig cell, reducing testosterone secretion and potentially leading to subtle dysregulation of reproductive development and adult fertility [3].
A study conducted by scientists from University of California at Los Angeles has suggested a correlation of pesticides and Parkinson's disease (PD) [4].
The study conducted at College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA suggests that long-term, low-dose exposure to specific OCPs (including dieldrin) and PCBs in the general population may contribute to an increased risk of prostate cancer and supports further investigation in this area. Seven organochlorines, dieldrin, p,p'-DDE, trans-nonachlor, oxychlordane, heptachlor epoxide, and PCBs 153 and 180 were detected in at least 20% of all study participants. [5].
Occupational studies have suggested a possible link between organochlorine pesticides and the occurrence of pancreatic cancers. California maintains a death file and a pesticide reporting system that allows examination of this relationship for residents of high use areas. Among long-term residents, pancreatic cancer mortality was elevated for those living in ZIP codes with the highest use of four pesticides: 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-d), captafol, pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB), and dieldrin.