Storage stability of DDT water-dispersible powders.

The authors describe a study of the change in suspensibility of two series of 75% DDT water-dispersible powders during storage in simulated commercial packages at 27 degrees C, 50 degrees C and 65 degrees C and as "shelf" samples at ambient temperatures. All the products tested in both series were made under the conditions of regular commercial production, and all those in the second series were prepared in 1954 under contract to the International Cooperation Administration (ICA) and according to ICA specifications.THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT: (a) a high initial suspensibility is no criterion of "shelf" life; (b) the suspensibility after the so-called "tropical storage pre-treatment" is no criterion of stability, except perhaps in the case of very poorly formulated products; (c) periodic observations, made over a period of a month or more, of the suspensibility of powders stored in commercial or simulated commercial packages at 50 degrees C and 65 degrees C will provide an indication as to the probable long-term stability of the products in question; and (d) it seems likely that a reasonable estimate of long-term storage stability at ambient temperatures could be obtained by subjecting the samples to high temperatures for a very short period.