Comment
Recently, the EPA released a draft Ecological Risk Assessment on atrazine, a popular herbicide used for weed control in growing the vast majority of corn, sorghum and sugarcane in the United States. Unfortunately, the federal agency is refusing to follow the law. Instead of using sound science in today’s review process, political activism is driving the re-registration of atrazine.
According to the latest assessment, EPA is recommending aquatic life level of concern (LOC) be set at 3.4 parts per billion (ppb) on a 60-day average. The EPA’s current LOC for atrazine is 10 ppb. However, scientific evidence points to a safe aquatic life LOC at 25 ppb or greater. The proposed level cuts average field application rates down to 8 ounces (one cup) per acre. If EPA continues to use the same false logic or endpoints as noted in the preliminary assessment, atrazine would be rendered useless in controlling weeds in a large portion of the Corn Belt – effectively eliminating the product.
Implications of EPA’s action if adopted:
- Sets a dangerous precedent when it comes to approving crop protection tools
- Puts farmers at a great economic disadvantage
- Drastically sets back conservation efforts
- Has dire implications for herbicide resistance in weeds
Tell EPA to follow their own high science standards. Ask the EPA to listen to the recommendations of their own Science Advisory Panels and more than 7,000 science-based studies that consistently prove atrazine’s safety. Politics and activist agendas have no place in a regulatory agency required by law to use credible scientific evidence in its decisions.