Where is atrazine produced

Their daughters reached puberty later than expected. Reproductive cycles were disrupted in female rats after eating low doses of 3.

It also happened in rats fed 3. Puberty was delayed in young male rates fed low doses of The EPA uses a benchmark dose to set a limit of 2. This hormone normally affects embryo development.

It also affects fertility by leading to the release of eggs from ovaries. A reference dose of 0. Epidemiology looks at what has happened to people and what health problems they have to see if the two are related. A number of epidemiology studies have looked at possible human health effects from exposure to atrazine.

Some studies found effects on human health, but others have not. These studies help guide more research. They may also provide information about possible risk. They do not prove that exposure leads to harm. A study in Texas found that mothers who lived in areas where more atrazine was used had a greater chance of giving birth to children with birth defects in their faces and skulls than mothers who did not.

The more atrazine used in the county, the greater the chance of birth defects. Researchers collected urine from pregnant women in France. They tested the urine for atrazine or its metabolites to estimate exposure to atrazine. Babies whose mothers were exposed to atrazine while they were pregnant grew more slowly.

They had a smaller head circumference than babies whose mothers were not exposed to atrazine during pregnancy. Women living in areas in Illinois where atrazine is heavily used had more irregular menstrual periods than women living in Vermont, where less atrazine is used.

Atrazine measured in the residential water was 0. The more water women in Illinois drank, the more likely they were to have delayed periods. Farmers have reported information on their health and use of pesticides in the Agricultural Health Study. Farmers who used atrazine were more likely to have both allergic and non-allergic wheezing. The chance of reporting wheezing increased with how often the farmers reported using atrazine. Researchers using Agricultural Health Study data found that people who had been exposed to more atrazine had a higher risk of end-stage renal disease kidney failure compared to people who had not been exposed.

As atrazine use increased, risk of end-stage renal disease also increased. Farmers in the Agricultural Health Study who used more atrazine also had a greater increase in body-mass index BMI than other farmers as they got older. Research shows that children are not more sensitive to atrazine than adults.

For example, they may spend more time on the ground. They may also be more likely to place their hands in their mouths after touching treated areas. Atrazine is broken down slowly by water, sunlight, and microorganisms.

Atrazine has a low to moderate solubility in water. Atrazine has a high potential to reach ground and surface water. Contact your local water provider for more information. Atrazine is absorbed through leaves or roots and moves throughout the plant. Atrazine was found to have a half-life of around 13 days in living foliage, and 66 days in leaf litter. When applied to turf, atrazine had a half-life of days, depending on the formulation.

Atrazine is slightly to moderately toxic to fish, including guppies and rainbow trout, following exposures of four days or less. Atrazine exposure for two days is highly toxic to freshwater invertebrates and very highly toxic to marine invertebrates, including midges and marine shrimp. Atrazine is practically non-toxic to honeybees through short-term contact or ingestion. Atrazine is practically non-toxic to slightly toxic to ducks and quail if eaten in the short term.

Amphibians are at risk from long-term chronic exposure. Across several studies, there were effects on mortality, development, growth, and reproduction. These effects were seen at amounts either measured in the environment or estimated based on field data. Effects varied by species. In fish, amphibians, aquatic plants, and aquatic invertebrates, the breakdown products of atrazine were less toxic than atrazine.

Breakdown products of atrazine were found to be equally or slightly more toxic to birds and mammals. The EPA modeled risks to wildlife based on atrazine's toxicity and how it is currently used. The risk assessment found that non-target plants and animals might be harmed depending on the application.

The EPA concluded that 52 out of 59 species of birds would raise fewer young if they were exposed to atrazine. Five bird species often found in cornfields might produce fewer broods of nestlings per year. The EPA's models suggested that small mammals were at long-term risk near fields sprayed with atrazine.

Small mammals could be harmed at up to feet away from the crop. Plant communities could be harmed by runoff and spray drift even if less atrazine was sprayed than usual.

The EPA found that aquatic vegetation that was not intended to be controlled by atrazine was likely to be harmed. This was the case even when less atrazine was used and most of it bound to soil. Injuring the non-target plants may have effects on the aquatic ecosystem. EPA scientists modeled what would happen to fish from long-term exposure to atrazine from runoff and spray drift. The models suggested that the fish might be harmed at all application rates.

They also suggested that amphibians living in water may also be at risk. This was based on what other scientists had found, results from surface water testing, and models. For more detailed information about atrazine please visit the list of referenced resources , call the National Pesticide Information Center, Monday - Friday, am - pm Pacific Time am - pm Eastern Time at , or visit us on the web at npic.

NPIC provides objective, science-based answers to questions about pesticides. NPIC aims to use the best scientific resources available at the time fact sheets are written. NPIC does not have the resources to keep all of its fact sheets entirely up-to-date. All NPIC documents have dates that indicate when the material was updated.

For more information about how NPIC selects scientific resources for inclusion in fact sheets, please see our page here: npic. Please cite as: Hanson, W. NPIC fact sheets are designed to answer questions that are commonly asked by the general public about pesticides that are regulated by the U.

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What is atrazine? What are some products that contain atrazine? How does atrazine work? JavaScript appears to be disabled on this computer. Please click here to see any active alerts.

Atrazine is a widely used herbicide that can be applied before and after planting to control broadleaf and grassy weeds. Atrazine is a member of the triazine chemical class, which includes simazine and propazine. It is used in primarily in agriculture, with the greatest use on corn, sorghum, and sugarcane. To a lesser extent, it is used on residential lawns and golf courses, particularly in the Southeast United States.

The Agency's oversight of atrazine is dynamic and includes periodic re-evaluation through the registration review process. In September , EPA released the Interim Registration Review Decisions for atrazine, propazine, and simazine , finalizing mitigation measures to protect human health and mitigate potential ecological risks. EPA completes interim registration review decisions to impose interim risk mitigation measures necessary to protect human health and the environment, while the Agency conducts other longer-term assessments, such as the endangered species assessment.

Each registered pesticide must be re-reviewed every 15 years, so EPA will complete the next round of registration review for atrazine by In particular:.

In this document EPA is finalizing the following new, stronger protections to reduce exposure to atrazine. If at any time EPA determines there are urgent human or environmental risks from atrazine exposure that require prompt attention, we will take appropriate regulatory action, regardless of the status of the registration review process.

In addition, for the past 15 years, the atrazine technical registrants have been required to monitor for atrazine in surface drinking water per the Atrazine Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision IRED and the Memorandum of Agreement MOA between EPA and the atrazine technical registrants.

The monitoring program conducted by the atrazine technical registrants, called the Atrazine Monitoring Program AMP , monitors approximately surface water CWS, primarily in the Midwest, to determine whether concentrations of atrazine and its chemical degradates are present at a level that could potentially pose a risk to public health.

CWSs included in the AMP are monitored on a weekly basis during peak atrazine use season and biweekly during the rest of the year. As part of registration review and decades of study, EPA is considering amendments to the Memorandum of Agreement that would end the requirement for continued drinking water monitoring under the AMP.

The totality of available atrazine monitoring data collected through the AMP is robust and comprehensive, which enabled the EPA to refine and characterize its most recent human health risk assessment. Estimates in the draft human health risk, as well as measured concentrations for community water systems, are well below the drinking water level of comparison DWLOC of parts per billion. The Agency did not receive significant comments illustrating the continued need for monitoring through this program, and therefore intends to proceed with discontinuing this requirement.