Herbicide banned in Europe used liberally in U.S.

Atrazine poses a health risk

By Don Gordon
Mankato Free Press

Fossils are the remnants, impressions, or traces of things that existed in bygone eras. Today, I want to discuss atrazine, a fossil herbicide that refuses to die.

Atrazine has been around since 1958, and in contrast to other chemicals, in its age class that have long been banned, it has increased in popularity. Atrazine is the second most popular herbicide (Roundup or glyphosate is No. 1) used in the United States. This year an estimated 80 million pounds will be used. Atrazine is principally applied by farmers mostly on corn, but it is also widely used on golf courses, athletic fields, home lawns and gardens.

Syngenta, the company that manufactures most of the atrazine sold, claims “atrazine is one of the best studied, most regulated molecules on the planet,” but recent reports released in late August by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the New York Times question the environmental and health effects of this popular herbicide. Atrazine once applied can easily move to lakes, rivers and streams. It is the most commonly detected pesticide found in U.S. waters and certainly the most common found in Minnesota waters.

According to the NRDC report, all watersheds monitored by the EPA and 90 percent of the drinking water sampled tested positive for atrazine. A survey conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey found 75 percent of stream water and about 40 percent of ground water samples from agricultural areas contained atrazine.

The New York Times estimated 33 million Americans have been exposed to atrazine through their drinking water systems, but what are consequences? Three ppb (parts per billion) is the EPA safe level for atrazine, but the Times found that in some areas atrazine levels exceeded 3 ppb for over a month. Some investigators have proposed atrazine levels should be sampled more often and that the public be informed when the “safe limit” is exceeded. Monitoring is expensive, and the Times reported that 43 water systems have sued the manufacturer to pay for monitoring costs.

(Continued here. Don Gordon is professor emeritus of botany at Minnesota State University Mankato.)