A link between exposure of pregnant women to DDT and breast cancer risk for their daughters has been established by a new study. Published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the study came up with the hazards caused by the insecticide DDT, which was banned by the United States in 1972.

For the study, the researchers tracked the daughters of women who participated in a study at the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan from 1959 to 1967 near the city of Oakland, Calif. DDT was widely used during that time. The insecticide was found accumulated in the fat of animals being eaten by human beings. It was also found in milk, butter, cheese and other products in the food supply. Many consumer products, like some wallpaper, were also not untouched by DDT.

The study has showed that high levels of DDT in the mother’s blood increased the risk of breast cancer by four times for her daughter. The risk had nothing to do with the mother’s history of breast cancer.

DDT is still used in parts of Africa and Asia and is believed to alter the function of estrogen. Findings of the study draw attention to curb environmental causes of breast cancer that kicks off in the womb.

“Our findings should prompt additional clinical and laboratory studies that can lead to prevention, early detection and treatment of DDT-associated breast cancer in the many generations of women who were exposed in the womb”, said lead study author Barbara A. Cohn of the Public Health Institute, in a news release.