A study showing DDT can accelerate mammary tumor growth:
http://www.ncbi.nlm..../pubmed/7326823
I will answer about this first one (that doesn't mean that I agree with your claims about the others, only that life is short and I have better things to do ATM).
First, we aren't rats.
Second, no effect was observed when they were fed DDT only.
Third, no signs of toxicity were observed in DDT-fed rats on autopsy (nor any other signs of problems).
Fourth, we don't eat so much DDT at all.
Fifth, this is what Wikipedia says about Sprague-Dawley rats:
A 1972 study compared neoplasms in “Sprague-Dawley” rats from six different commercial suppliers and found highly significant differences in the incidences of endocrine and mammary tumors. There were even significant variations in the incidences of adrenal medulla tumors among rats from the same source raised in different laboratories. All but one of the testicular tumors occurred in the rats from a single supplier. The researchers found that the incidence of tumors in Sprague-Dawley rats from different commercial sources varied as much from each other as from the other strains of rats. The authors of the study "stressed the need for extreme caution in evaluation of carcinogenicity studies conducted at different laboratories and/or on rats from different sources."[8]
I can't analyze more details of the paper (like the number of animals used) because it's behind a paywall, but the above suffices to show that the paper is not a proof of human carcinogenesis of DDT.
Okay, we don't eat that amount of ddt. I agree with that. And yes, we're not rats but you're original argument for ddt's safety focused on a mechanism of action that would only effect insects. All those papers demonstrate that the danger doesn't just apply to insects but mammals as well. The mechanisms for cancer and bug killing are different. The one to kill bugs is indeed the one you mentioned but the one suspected to lead to cancer has to do with interaction with estrogen receptors.
As far as home pesticides go, it seem I did mistake the danger as being more the it really is but as posted above, I did find references to pyrethroid neurotoxicity and their ability to pass the placental barrier and to end up in breast milk in animals (no human studies available). Also, they seem to have thyroid disrupting properties which could lead to a number of health issues.
Disruption of thyroid hormones in rat brain:
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/14694632
Toxicology profile of pyrethroids referencing neurotoxcity, ability to penetrate the placental barriers and to be secreted in brest milk of animals:
http://www.atsdr.cdc...?id=787&tid=153
Study showing decreased scores on mental development indexes in babies whose mothers were exposed to piperonyl butoxide (often used alongside pyrethroids, listed as a possible carcinogen by the EPA):
http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC3065142/
Seems to me that chemicals that cause neurotoxcity, interfer with thyroid hormones, and hinder mental development could very easily cause some of the mental health issues I mentioned in my first post if exposure was often enough, though I have no studies to prove this(though I swear I read it some where, but that doesn't really matter unless I can provide a reference :p ). There also was mention of these chemicals causing lipid peroxidation and formation of free radicals that i'll try to find again if anybody is intrested. All in all, the impression I'm getting from all this is that these aren't exactly healthy chemicals to have around, especially around pregnant women and children, who seem to be the most vulnerable.