Telegraph Herald
July 10, 2006 Monday
TRISTATE; Pg. a3
Tri-state farmers closer to herbicide OK
The weed-killer atrazine could be re-instated by August
EMILY KLEIN
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently reported that the popular
herbicide atrazine, often used in pesticides, is primarily safe.
As long as the EPA re-registers it in August, farmers still will be able to use the
herbicide.
An April EPA report states there is "a reasonable certainty that no harm will
result" to infants, children or other consumers from possible exposure to atrazine.
Atrazine has been banned in parts of Europe because it is believed to be linked
to health problems like cancer, but the EPA reports that the chemical is not likely
to be carcinogenic in humans.
A June cumulative risk assessment of atrazine and other similar chemicals
conducted by the EPA showed that risks associated with these chemicals are
below the agency's level of concern.
Atrazine is registered for use in the United States on a variety of food and feed
crops including grains, fruits and nuts. These uses result in potential exposure to
residues through drinking water or food and through residential activities on
treated turf, according to the EPA.
Brian Lang, Iowa State University Extension Crop Specialist, said atrazine is
used widely in Iowa agriculture because it is cost- effective.
Use of the herbicide, however, has decreased significantly since the 1980s when
Iowa legislators started focusing on groundwater quality and put restrictions on
chemical use, he said.
Prior to those limitations, some producers used atrazine as a stand-alone
product.
"Now it is commonly used on other tank mixes to help boost broadleaf control,"
Lang said.
The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation participated in the EPA special review of
atrazine by coordinating special test corn plots at Iowa State University and
promoting a survey that showed how Iowa farmers use atrazine.
"This is good news for Iowa farmers and all citizens," said Rick Robinson,
environmental policy adviser for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation. "It is good
that science can still win the day over activists with an agenda."
Citizens have until Aug. 21 to comment on the EPA's preliminary decision on its
risk assessment of atrazine.
According to the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, atrazine saved farmers up to $37
an acre in broadleaf weed control costs and yield losses in corn last year.
Enesta Jones, an EPA spokesperson for the Office of Pesticide Programs, said
the agency routinely reevaluates pesticides that have been on the market for
longer than 15 years to be sure they meet current health and safety standards.