mongabay.com, June 08, 2012
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will weigh a ban on Atrazine,
a widely used herbicide linked to sex reversal and other reproductive problems
in amphibians and fish. The chemical, which is manufactured by Syngenta, has
been banned in the European Union since 2004 but some 80 million pounds
Atrazine are applied to corn, sugarcane, sorghum and rice in the United States
each year.
Environmentalists say the effects of Atrazine on wildlife make its use
unacceptable and are pushing the EPA to ban the chemical. The agency will be
holding a Scientific Advisory Panel public meeting June 12th to discuss the
ecological risks of Atrazine.
Save The Frogs, a group that works to protect amphibians, welcomed the
move.
"Atrazine weakens amphibians' immune systems, and can cause
hermaphroditism and complete sex reversal in male frogs at concentrations as
low as 2.5 parts per billion," Kerry Kriger, Founder & Executive
Director of SAVE THE FROGS! told mongabay.com in an interview last year.
"Epidemiological studies have found high rates of breast and
prostate cancer, as well as impaired fertility, in humans living or working in
areas with high Atrazine usage. Atrazine induces prostate and mammary cancer in
laboratory rodents as well."
Amphibians are among the most endangered group of animals on the planet.
Roughly a third of all species are at risk of extinction due to habitat
destruction, introduced predators and disease, over-consumption, pollution, and
the effects of climate change.
For video of talk biologist and herpetologist Trone Hayes talks about
the effects of Atrazine at TEDxYouth2010. http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0607-atrazine-epa.html#ixzz1xxiUPg2O
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