{"id":38611,"date":"2014-04-17T14:32:46","date_gmt":"2014-04-17T21:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panna.org\/news\/spring-again-and-syngentas-still-spinning-atrazine\/"},"modified":"2023-01-12T10:19:36","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T18:19:36","slug":"spring-again-and-syngentas-still-spinning-atrazine","status":"publish","type":"pan_blog","link":"https:\/\/www.panna.org\/news\/spring-again-and-syngentas-still-spinning-atrazine\/","title":{"rendered":"Spinning the science on atrazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last of the late spring snowstorms are winding down here in the Midwest, and it won\u2019t be long before corn goes into the ground. With corn-planting, of course, comes atrazine applications. And though atrazine doesn\u2019t get much use in the colder months, this winter hasn\u2019t been a quiet one for the notorious herbicide<\/a> and its manufacturer, the Syngenta Corporation.<\/p>\n

In the last few months, investigative reporters in the U.S. and Canada have highlighted Syngenta\u2019s desperate scrambling to discredit atrazine\u2019s critics. Recent pieces in major outlets like the New Yorker<\/a> and Canada\u2019s 16 x 9<\/a>, building on important findings first published in 100Reporters<\/a>, have pulled back the curtain on Syngenta\u2019s PR machine for a broader audience. The message? In the pesticide industry, spin is half the business.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Much of the recent media coverage zeroes in on Dr. Tyrone Hayes, the Berkeley biologist who was on Syngenta\u2019s payroll until his findings raised red flags about atrazine.<\/p>\n

\n\tSyngenta\u2019s PR machine<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When Hayes went public with his research, Syngenta dropped Hayes and publicly refuted his findings. As Hayes continued to publicly question atrazine, Syngenta launched a behind-the-scenes offensive, pulling out all the stops to discredit Hayes professionally and shake him up personally.<\/p>\n

Hayes\u2019 story has become emblematic of a much broader trend: industry actively undermining independent science<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a former lobbyist for the pesticide industry explains in this month\u2019s 16 x 9 report, the pesticide industry has a focused strategy when it comes to spinning science. By going after individual scientists\u2019 credibility, industry can preempt real debate about whether dangerous chemicals should be on the market. Researchers learn quickly that if they question the pesticide industry, they may be putting their careers at risk. And so in the end, the majority of scientists conduct research that’s underwritten by Syngenta and the rest of the Big 6<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a hopeful flip side. Hayes\u2019s story affirms what we, at PAN, deeply believe: that independent science, amplified by powerful and committed spokespeople, can chip away at industry spin.  <\/p>\n

As I traveled through Iowa and Minnesota last month training local partners to use PAN’s Drift Catcher<\/a> tool, I found that almost everyone knows Tyrone Hayes\u2019s name. For small farmers and rural residents dealing with pesticides in their air and water, Hayes\u2019s outspoken truth-telling is both inspiring and affirming. It looks a lot like the work they\u2019re doing to speak up and defend their communities from hazardous pesticides.<\/p>\n

\n\tRural communities foot the bill<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s no wonder Syngenta works so hard to keep atrazine on the market. With 76 million pounds<\/a> applied annually, it\u2019s the second most widely-used pesticide in the United States. Syngenta would like to keep it that way.<\/p>\n

Atrazine starts on corn fields, but the first heavy rain after planting \u2014 the spring flush \u2014 washes agricultural chemicals from the fields into both ground and surface water. For rural residents in the corn belt, these are major sources of drinking water.<\/p>\n

Taxpayers foot the bill for filtering Syngenta’s atrazine out of local drinking water.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like so many pesticides, atrazine makes its way into water even when it’s applied according to the label. Then it becomes the responsibility of small public water utilities \u2014 and the taxpayers who fund them \u2014 to filter it out of our drinking water. This amounts to subsidizing Syngenta, straight out of the pockets of rural communities.<\/p>\n

A recent class action lawsuit<\/a> held Syngenta responsible for some of the costs borne by small water systems for managing atrazine contamination, but it was only a drop in the bucket compared to the true price of the pesticide.<\/p>\n

For rural residents whose drinking water is spiked with atrazine, this is deeply personal. Serious health impacts like endocrine disruption, reproductive harms and cancer are all associated with atrazine exposure. And EPA is the agency responsible for protecting them from it.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s time, EPA<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Atrazine has become a poster child for our broken regulatory and agricultural systems. It’s not economically necessary<\/a>, and its health harms are known. Industry\u2019s dirty tactics are out in the open. And though European regulators banned the chemical a decade ago<\/a>, EPA is still stalling.<\/p>\n

EPA has a track record of bending to Syngenta\u2019s lobbying<\/a> in prior registration reviews of atrazine. But with another review open right now, they have a chance to make a decision that puts rural health above Syngenta\u2019s profits. EPA\u2019s own Scientific Advisory Panel has chided the Agency<\/a> for not taking atrazine\u2019s cancer risk more seriously.<\/p>\n

Syngenta defends atrazine to preserve their bottom line. But what\u2019s EPA\u2019s excuse?<\/span><\/p>\n

Many people in rural communities in Minnesota and Iowa have told me they\u2019re concerned about pesticides in their air and water. But most are quick to say that they don\u2019t want to condemn their neighbors for their farming practices \u2014 especially when their neighbors are using pesticides legally. As long as regulatory and legislative decision-makers choose to keep atrazine on the market rather than supporting<\/a> alternatives<\/a>, millions of pounds of this herbicide will land on cornfields every spring. And while this is good for Syngenta, it\u2019s bad for the rest of us.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll keep you up to date on EPA\u2019s current review of atrazine, and ask you to join us when we submit our next comments to EPA. In the meantime, as planting season begins, we encourage you to take this opportunity to start conversations in your community about protecting kids<\/a>, and the rest of us, from harmful chemicals like atrazine.<\/p>\n

Image: Courtesy of Syngenta<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last of the late spring snowstorms are winding down here in the Midwest, and it won\u2019t be long before corn goes into the ground. With corn-planting, of course, comes atrazine applications. And though atrazine doesn\u2019t get much use in the colder months, this winter…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":30941,"template":"","blog_tag":[],"pan_blog_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panna.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pan_blog\/38611"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panna.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pan_blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panna.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pan_blog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panna.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.panna.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pan_blog\/38611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panna.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panna.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"blog_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panna.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_tag?post=38611"},{"taxonomy":"pan_blog_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panna.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pan_blog_type?post=38611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}