Mart, Michelle (Author)
Environmental History
Volume: 26
Issue: 3
Pages: 431-436
Edition Details: Forum: Of Perpetrators and Victims: Toxicity in Environmental History
Language: English
When Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962, one common argument made to discredit her book and its criticism of the indiscriminate use of toxic pesticides was that many seemingly benign substances such as aspirin or salt were toxic if used incorrectly. This critique—voiced by industry spokesman Dr. Robert White Stevens and others—appeared ludicrous to Carson’s supporters insofar as it seemingly equated DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and other pesticides with salt and aspirin. But however disingenuous Stevens’s argument might have been at the time and however justified some of the subsequent ridicule might be, the argument itself, if considered with more dispassion, was not wholly wrong. It stemmed from the undeniable conclusion that “toxic” was not an absolute category: it hinged on context and application, and many substances could be poisonous depending on how they were used.
...MoreArticle Müller-Pohl, Simone; Iris Borowy; Marco Armiero; Michelle Mart; Janelle Lamoreaux; Justine Philip (July 2021) Of Perpetrators and Victims: Toxicity in Environmental History. Environmental History (pp. 409-410).
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