| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Jen |
Posted - Dec 19 2007 : 2:12:59 PM
High Weedkiller Levels Found in River Checks
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 9, 2007; A06
Atrazine, the second most widely used weedkiller in the country, is
showing up in some streams and rivers at levels high enough to
potentially harm amphibians, fish and aquatic ecosystems, according to
the findings of an extensive Environmental Protection Agency database
that has not been made public.
The analysis -- conducted by the chemical's manufacturer, Syngenta Crop
Protection -- suggests that atrazine has entered streams and rivers in
the Midwest at a rate that could harm those ecosystems, several
scientific experts said. In two Missouri watersheds, the level of
atrazine spiked to reach a "level of concern" in both 2004 and 2005,
according to the EPA, and an Indiana watershed exceeded the threshold in
2005.
Much of the data on atrazine levels has remained private because
Syngenta's survey of 40 U.S. watersheds was done in connection with the
EPA's 2006 decision to renew its approval of the pesticide. The
Washington Post obtained the documents from the Natural Resources News
Service, a District-based nonprofit group focused on environmental
issues.
Atrazine has been linked to sexual abnormalities in frogs and fish in
several scientific studies, but the EPA ruled in September that the
evidence was not sufficiently compelling to restrict use of the
pesticide. EPA spokeswoman Jennifer Wood said the agency "has concluded
that atrazine does not adversely affect gonadal development in frogs,
based on a thorough review of 19 laboratory and field studies, including
studies submitted by [Syngenta] and others in the public literature."
The pesticide is popular among corn and sorghum farmers despite the
controversy because it is inexpensive and blocks photosynthesis, thus
killing plants to which it is applied.
"It works and it's inexpensive, and that's what farmers love," said Tim
Pastoor, head of toxicology at Syngenta. "It's magic for them. It's like
the aspirin of crop protection."
EPA officials and independent experts spent last week in meetings in
Arlington, debating the "ecological significance" of atrazine water
contamination, according to agency documents. The results of the
deliberations -- the monitoring data was plugged into computer models to
estimate the effects on ecosystems -- will be published in several weeks
and will help determine how EPA officials regulate the pesticide in the
future.
Read the rest at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/08/AR200712
0801451.html
Jen
Farmgirl Sisterhood Member #9
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Jen |
Posted - Dec 20 2007 : 12:57:29 PM
When we lived in Ellensburg (WA), we were just downslope from a big irrigation canal that was known to contain atrazine. We worried that it might somehow contaminate our well, so rather than test it (we were renting), we just drank bottled water. And we still drink bottled water. We may FOREVER drink bottled water. Is it better? I honestly don't know. I just know the alternative isn't good. Sigh....
PS - we use glass gallon jugs and sun tea jars for our water; no bad plastics!
Jen
Farmgirl Sisterhood Member #9
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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| Elizaray |
Posted - Dec 19 2007 : 8:10:35 PM
Wow. You have to start wondering how blind people can get to the harms of a chemical before they finally stop using it. How scary and sad. It makes me want to find my bit of land and put up huge "NO SPRAY" signs everywhere! I hope someday I can have my land and provide a buffer zone for animals, bugs and people!
Elizaray |
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