I’ve conducted independent research into the 1964 USDA pesticide study in Greenville, Mississippi, which exposed residents—especially Black and low-income communities—to toxic chemicals like DDT, arsenic, toxaphene, and organophosphates. These contaminants have left a long legacy of health risks, including cancer, neurological disorders, and generational harm.
🚨 The soil, water, and air in parts of the Delta remain compromised to this day.
I’ve been researching ways to restore the soil and purify the drinking water in Greenville, MS.
I’m currently in contact with the USDA and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to obtain updated soil tests and full records from the original pesticide study.
The 1964 “Preliminary Report of Data Recorded from Greenville, Mississippi” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched a multiyear monitoring program that documented heavy agricultural use of persistent organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides in two one-square-mile areas bordering the city of Greenville. The original document reported “no significant soil residue build-up,” yet subsequent independent investigations contradict that claim and reveal:
Chronic contamination of Delta soils, sediments, fish, and drinking-water sources with DDT, toxaphene, methyl parathion, endrin, and arsenic that persisted for decades after application.
Disparate exposure of Black and low-income residents living downwind or down-gradient from treated fields, consistent with modern definitions of environmental racism.
Elevated long-term risks of breast cancer, neurodevelopmental impairment, Parkinsonian symptoms, metabolic disorders, and transgenerational epigenetic effects linked to early-life exposure to DDT, organophosphates, and arsenicals.
Absence of informed consent, hazard disclosure, or medical monitoring, violating residents’ rights to bodily integrity, information, and participation as articulated under contemporary human-rights frameworks.
These findings warrant renewed public-health surveillance, environmental cleanup, community consultation, and consideration of reparative measures for affected populations.
Documented Health Effects:
3.1 Cancer
• Breast cancer: Early-life DDT exposure multiplies pre-menopausal breast-cancer risk by five-fold; a 40-year induction period aligns Greenville girls born 1945-1965 with elevated incidence today .
• Thyroid cancer: Ecological correlation links lindane application with rising thyroid-cancer incidence, including Delta counties .
• Hepatic and hematologic malignancies associated with toxaphene and arsenic remain under-studied in the region .
3.2 Neurodevelopment and Cognition
• Prenatal organophosphate metabolites correlate with a 7-point IQ decrement at age 7 and altered prefrontal activation on functional near-infrared spectroscopy .
• Children in the Mississippi Delta show disproportionately higher urinary organophosphate biomarkers compared with national averages.
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repLy!