Atrazine is a very popular weed control herbicide that is used by a majority of farmers in the mid west as well as some farmers on the east coast. The big monoculture farms of corn and soy use this herbicide during the summer months and its also popular on golf courses to keep nasty weeds at bay. However, it is proven to run off into rivers and streams and contaminate our water supply. Its effects on humans to date are inconclusive (probably because any study that says its harmful has been burned or kept from the public) but we know that it has detrimental hormonal effects on wildlife. Some male frogs exposed to atrazine were later seen to lay eggs. There are other examples of this hormonal change on aquatic life in the DC area but the EPA does not seemed concerned because atrazine hasn't done any damage to humans....as far as we know.
This story reminds me of the movie Erin Brokovich. A story from the Huffington Post reads:
[One of the nation's most widely-used herbicides has been found to exceed federal safety limits in drinking water in four states, but water customers have not been told and the Environmental Protection Agency has not published the results. Records that tracked the amount of the weed-killer atrazine in about 150 watersheds from 2003 through 2008 were obtained by the Huffington Post Investigative Fund under the Freedom of Information Act. An analysis found that yearly average levels of atrazine in drinking water violated the federal standard at least ten times in communities in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kansas, all states where farmers rely heavily on the herbicide.
In addition, more than 40 water systems in those states showed spikes in atrazine levels that normally would have triggered automatic notification of customers. In none of those cases were residents alerted. In interviews, EPA officials did not dispute the data but said they do not consider atrazine a health hazard and said they did not believe the agency or state authorities had failed to properly inform the public. "We have concluded that atrazine does not cause adverse effects to humans or the environment," said Steve Bradbury, deputy office director of the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs.]
Essentially, the EPA has not been forthcoming with its information. This is putting the general public at risk. We should all know what is in our drinking water. And if we decide its not safe then we have the right to choose other sources for our drinking water.
In Europe, atrazine is banned because of the potential risks to the human population. What does Europe know that we don't? NOTHING. America just chooses to put money above public safety. The company that manufactures atrazine [Syngenta] has conducted scientific studies that show atrazine exposure contributing to prostate cancer in humans. In fact, employees of Syngenta that actually handle the herbicide have elevated levels of prostate cancer (3.5x higher than the Louisiana state average). Do you think there is a link here?? But why isn't the EPA getting involved? One word.... Pharma. Syngenta is a merger between two major pharma companies and they have deep pockets and a large lobby in Washington. Sometimes I feel like I am repeating myself but the patterns I am pointing out are no coincidence. Money and greed are at the root of all of this and we are paying the price with our health.
So the EPA did not publish the elevated levels of atrazine in the water supply of 4 states and those people were drinking that water over a period of 5 years. Who knows what the health ramifications were and if those people could do anything about it even if they were to draw a link back to atrazine.
Here is what you can do. Buy a water filter. You can get a professional one installed on your faucet or you can get a simple carbon filtration system like Brita. The carbon will filter out an herbicide like atrazine. Bottled water is always an option but make sure its from a protected spring source and has been tested for contaminants. The only issue there is the plastic bottles it comes in. They are bad for the environment and build up in our landfills. Our choices are limited so the best option for you and the environment would be a water filter. I would go even further to say that fluoride should be filtered from your water as well because it is a contaminant too but I will save that discussion for another post. Here is a link to the NRDC's (Natural Resources Defense Council) article on atrazine. Its another eye opener, especially when you read about the hormonal effects it has on aquatic life!
http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/natrazine.asp
This story reminds me of the movie Erin Brokovich. A story from the Huffington Post reads:
[One of the nation's most widely-used herbicides has been found to exceed federal safety limits in drinking water in four states, but water customers have not been told and the Environmental Protection Agency has not published the results. Records that tracked the amount of the weed-killer atrazine in about 150 watersheds from 2003 through 2008 were obtained by the Huffington Post Investigative Fund under the Freedom of Information Act. An analysis found that yearly average levels of atrazine in drinking water violated the federal standard at least ten times in communities in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kansas, all states where farmers rely heavily on the herbicide.
In addition, more than 40 water systems in those states showed spikes in atrazine levels that normally would have triggered automatic notification of customers. In none of those cases were residents alerted. In interviews, EPA officials did not dispute the data but said they do not consider atrazine a health hazard and said they did not believe the agency or state authorities had failed to properly inform the public. "We have concluded that atrazine does not cause adverse effects to humans or the environment," said Steve Bradbury, deputy office director of the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs.]
Essentially, the EPA has not been forthcoming with its information. This is putting the general public at risk. We should all know what is in our drinking water. And if we decide its not safe then we have the right to choose other sources for our drinking water.
In Europe, atrazine is banned because of the potential risks to the human population. What does Europe know that we don't? NOTHING. America just chooses to put money above public safety. The company that manufactures atrazine [Syngenta] has conducted scientific studies that show atrazine exposure contributing to prostate cancer in humans. In fact, employees of Syngenta that actually handle the herbicide have elevated levels of prostate cancer (3.5x higher than the Louisiana state average). Do you think there is a link here?? But why isn't the EPA getting involved? One word.... Pharma. Syngenta is a merger between two major pharma companies and they have deep pockets and a large lobby in Washington. Sometimes I feel like I am repeating myself but the patterns I am pointing out are no coincidence. Money and greed are at the root of all of this and we are paying the price with our health.
So the EPA did not publish the elevated levels of atrazine in the water supply of 4 states and those people were drinking that water over a period of 5 years. Who knows what the health ramifications were and if those people could do anything about it even if they were to draw a link back to atrazine.
Here is what you can do. Buy a water filter. You can get a professional one installed on your faucet or you can get a simple carbon filtration system like Brita. The carbon will filter out an herbicide like atrazine. Bottled water is always an option but make sure its from a protected spring source and has been tested for contaminants. The only issue there is the plastic bottles it comes in. They are bad for the environment and build up in our landfills. Our choices are limited so the best option for you and the environment would be a water filter. I would go even further to say that fluoride should be filtered from your water as well because it is a contaminant too but I will save that discussion for another post. Here is a link to the NRDC's (Natural Resources Defense Council) article on atrazine. Its another eye opener, especially when you read about the hormonal effects it has on aquatic life!
http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/natrazine.asp
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