New Science: NPR talks with researcher Dr. Tyrone Hayes about his findings that atrazine "chemically castrates" male frogs. March 7, 2010.
Report: The Syngenta Corporation and Atrazine: The Cost to the Land, People and Democracy, (PDF) a joint PANNA/Land Stewardship Project report released January 5, 2010.
Press release: Farm Groups Call for New Review of Syngenta's Atrazine to be Unbiased & Science-Driven, January 5.
Letter to EPA: Midwest farmer organizations and others call for open review process for herbicide atrazine, urge EPA to resist pressure from Syngenta in a joint letter delivered January 5, 2010.
Land Stewardship Project: A Minnesota - based farmers' organization working to foster stewardship of farmland.
Dr. Tyrone Hayes on atrazine: A web page dedicated to informing the scientific community and the public at large about the dangers of atrazine.
Report: Poisoning the Well: How the EPA is Ignoring Atrazine
Contamination in the Central United States, a Natural Resources Defense Council report,
released August 2009.
- Atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S., and is found in 70% of U.S. water -- more often than any other pesticide. An estimated 7 million people were exposed to atrazine in their drinking water between 1998 and 2003.
- Syngenta, the largest agrichemical corporation in the world, makes and sells atrazine. Syngenta is based in Switzerland, where the pesticide has been banned due to concerns over water contamination.
- In the fall of 2009, the U.S. EPA began a new review of atrazine, in light of the public's widespread exposure to the chemical and a growing body of evidence indicating human health harms (PDF), even at very low-exposure levels. This review process is currently open.
Atrazine & human health
The widespread presence of atrazine in the environment poses a risk to humans, wildlife and ecosystems. The chemical is known to be a potent endocrine disruptor, interfering with hormonal activity of animals and humans at extremely low doses. Dr. Tyrone Hayes and other scientists have conducted research to show that exposing frogs to as little as 0.1 parts per billion can cause severe health effects, including a kind of chemical castration. Studies show that atrazine can also impact the human reproductive system, decreasing sperm counts and increasing rates of infertility. Atrazine has been linked to elevated risk of several types of cancer, including non-Hodgkins lymphoma, breast and prostate cancer. It can also retard development of mammary glands and induce abortion in laboratory rodents. A growing body of research has linked atrazine with birth defects such as cleft palate, spina bifida and Down Syndrome. Epidemiological studies indicate that very low levels of exposure through contaminated drinking water during key periods of pregnancy may interfere with healthy fetal development. PANNA has summarized recent key studies (PDF) documenting the human health effects of atrazine.
Read the report
Syngenta: The world's largest pesticide company
Syngenta -- the largest pesticide corporation in the world -- invented atrazine and remains the chemical's most aggressive defender. Based in Switzerland, Syngenta enjoys increasingly monopolistic control over global agrichemical and seed markets. Atrazine is one reason Syngenta's net profits grew 75% in 2007, and another 40% in 2008. As of 2008, Syngenta controls almost one-fifth of the global market for agrichemicals. The company has used its deep pockets to undermine scientific integrity, intimidate independent scientists, and influence regulatory decisions in the U.S. Meanwhile, atrazine has been banned in Syngenta's home country and in 2004 it was banned throughout Europe. During U.S. EPA's most recent review of atrazine, Syngenta held over 50 private, closed-door meetings with agency regulators.
Farming without atrazine
There are many viable ways of producing corn and growing food without relying on Syngenta's controversial chemical. According to recent analyses, dropping atrazine would result in yield losses of less than 1%, much lower than industry estimates. Farmers in states like Minnesota are using innovative production systems to raise corn without atrazine. Since Germany and Italy banned atrazine in 1991, corn yields and acres of corn harvested have gone up, rather than down. Farm organizations such as the Land Stewardship Project (PDF) have documented many ways to reduce and eliminate the use of atrazine in corn production.