The widely used weed killer atrazine causes reproductive, behavioral and growth abnormalities in amphibians and freshwater fish, according to an analysis by researchers at the University of South Florida.
USF biologists Jason Rohr and Krista McCoy looked at more than 100 scientific studies conducted on atrazine, a common but controversial herbicide.
While atrazine typically does not kill amphibians and freshwater fish, they said studies have found consistent evidence that it harms their development, behavior, immune, hormone and reproductive systems.
Rohr, an assistant professor of ecology in USF's Department of Integrative Biology, and McCoy, a postdoctoral fellow, published their conclusions in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Atrazine's manufacturer defends its use as a "mainstay" of American agriculture and says the weed killer is one of the "best-studied" herbicides available. It is used safely without harm to water supplies and with "wide margins of safety," according to Syngenta, a biotech company based in Switzerland.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said it will take a "hard look" at atrazine. EPA officials plan to watch for developments in scientific research in deciding whether to change its regulation of the weed killer.
Rohr and McCoy do not offer any conclusions about whether the EPA should restrict the use of atrazine. Rather, they say policy-makers and regulators should weigh the non-lethal effects of atrazine against its benefits.
Europe banned atrazine in 2004, but it remains widely used in the United States. In Florida, it is used on lawns, golf courses and sugar cane fields.
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Studies Show Evidence that Syngenta's Atrazine Harms Fish and Amphibians
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Studies show evidence that atrazine harms fish and amphibians, USF researchers say
By Richard Danielson
TampaBay.com, Sept 29, 2009
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