September 4, 2009
Arguing Over Atrazine: NGO Says Pesticide is Unsafe
Accountability & Transparency Trends
The National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) recently issued a report that shows widespread water contamination and environmental damage caused by the pesticide Atrazine. According to the NRDC, evidence suggests that the pesticide is an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC), interfering with critical reproductive hormones in wildlife. The pesticide is widely used to control grasses and broadleaf weeds.
Syngenta, the company producing the pesticide, stands by its product. “Atrazine passes the most stringent, up-to-date safety requirements in the world. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency re-registered atrazine in 2006, based on the overwhelming evidence of safety from nearly 6,000 studies.”
Critics remain unconvinced. Jennifer Sass, Senior Scientist in NRDC's Health and Environment Program, says that consumers should, “say no to the unnecessary use of toxic agriculture chemicals [like Atrazine], where safer alternative methods or materials exist. Do it for the future gonads of America!”
For more about the atrazine debate, see John Vogel’s insightful piece.
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