What is the purpose of atrazine?
What is the purpose of atrazine?
What is atrazine? Atrazine is an herbicide widely used for control of broadleaf and grassy weeds. It is sprayed on row crops such as corn, sorghum and sugarcane, and in some areas is used on residential lawns. It has also been used on highway and railroad rights-of-way.
What are the effects of atrazine?
Atrazine has a lot of adverse effect on health such as tumors, breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers as well as leukemia and lymphoma. It is an endocrine disrupting chemical interrupting regular hormone function and causing birth defects, reproductive tumors, and weight loss in amphibians as well as humans.
Why is atrazine still used in the US?
Atrazine is one of the most commonly used herbicides in the US. Farmers spray it on crops such as corn, sorghum, and sugarcane to control grasses and broadleaf weeds. Consumers apply it to residential lawns to kill weeds. To reduce herbicide drift into water bodies, the EPA is requiring control of spray drift.
Why we should not use atrazine?
It’s so dangerous to both people and wildlife that it has been banned by the European Union. Numerous studies have provided overwhelming evidence linking atrazine to significant health concerns including increased risk of prostate cancer and decreased sperm count in men, and a higher risk of breast cancer in women.
What does atrazine do to men?
Atrazine-exposed males suffered from depressed testosterone, decreased breeding gland size, demasculinized/feminized laryngeal development, suppressed mating behavior, reduced spermatogenesis, and decreased fertility.
How safe is atrazine?
Atrazine has a stellar safety record. In 2006, the EPA completed a 12-year review that included 6,000 studies and 80,000 public comments. When agreeing to re-register the product, EPA concluded that it provided no harm to people. Moreover, the World Health Organization has found no health concerns with atrazine.
How does atrazine enter the body?
If your skin comes in contact with atrazine-contaminated soil or water, a small amount of it may pass through your skin and into your bloodstream. If you swallow food, water, or soil containing atrazine, most of it will pass through the lining of your stomach and intestines and enter your bloodstream.
Is atrazine still in tap water?
Atrazine, a widely used agricultural weedkiller that disrupts hormones, contaminates tap water supplies for about 7.6 million Americans at potentially harmful levels. But the federal government is doing little to counter the threat. The highest levels of atrazine in tap water are detected in May and June.
When should I apply atrazine?
Hi-Yield Atrazine Weed Killer can be applied early in the morning before temperatures reach 90 degrees if it’s expected to get this hot on the day of application. You just do not want to apply during the time of high temperature because your desirable turfgrass is under more stress in high heat.
Is atrazine in tap water?
Atrazine, a widely used agricultural weedkiller that disrupts hormones, contaminates tap water supplies for about 7.6 million Americans at potentially harmful levels. The highest levels of atrazine in tap water are detected in May and June.
How much atrazine is in tap water?
In many countries, after application in agricultural areas, atrazine has been found in groundwater at levels of 0.01–6 µg/litre. It has also been detected in drinking-water in several countries at levels of 0.01–5 µg/litre (11,12).
How long does it take atrazine to work?
How long it takes to see results from an application of Atrazine can vary somewhat, depending on what type of weeds you are targeting. Typically, Atrazine is a very slow-acting herbicide, and it can take up to 4 to 6 weeks after application to see desired results and death of the target weed.
What are the effects of exposure to atrazine?
The effects of exposure to any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are present. For more information, call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-888-422-8737. This public health statement tells you about atrazine and the effects of exposure.
Where is atrazine found in the United States?
Atrazine is the most widely used herbicide in Texas corn and grain sorghum production. It also is often found as an active ingredient in many “weed-and-feed” products available for home lawn and commercial turf- grass weed control. With its widespread use, atrazine has been discovered in minute quantities in Texas ground and surface waters.
What kind of herbicide is atrazine used for?
What is atrazine? Atrazine is in a group of man-made systemic herbicides called triazines. Specifically, atrazine is a chlorotriazine herbicide. 1 It is used for broadleaf weeds both before and after they sprout.
When is the best time to use atrazine?
Certified herbicide workers (see Section 1.7) may spread atrazine on crops or croplands as a powder, liquid, or in a granular form. Atrazine is usually used in the spring and summer months. For it to be active, atrazine needs to dissolve in water and enter the plants through their roots.