What Do You Know About Atrazine and What You Should Know About It.

What Do You Know About Atrazine and What You Should Know About It.

In our growing concern for our environment one of the items of interests in the recent past was the use of pesticides. The Government in some countries put forth a good effort in gaining more control over what could be used and what was going to be banned. There is no doubt that this was a great step in the right direction. Is it enough though? Can we finally claim that we are living in a world or even an area safe from pesticides? Not likely.

A widely used pesticide is Atrazine. In it used for various crops such as corn or soybean, sugar cane, and pineapple to name a few. Christmas tree farmers have been known to make use of it as well. Its main purpose is to keep broadleaf and grass type weeds in check. It is a solid organic compound that comes in a variety of forms.

It is certainly not an uncommon product as it is one of the most used types of herbicides throughout the USA. It is known that this herbicide is not affected by the sun or evaporation and it has been shown to leach into groundwater.

So is it safe or is it dangerous? Well there was enough concern about it being a potential hazard if leaking into drinking water that regulations were set in place concerning it. If it is found in water slated for drinking beyond a certain level that the water has to be treated with activated charcoal to make it fit for drinking will no ill effects of the Atrazine. In addition to the control regulations in order to use and apply Atrazine one must be licensed to do so.

So have these regulations been successful in keeping contamination in control? Studies show that in spite of these actions well water is still becoming contaminated from runoff. So much so that it sits as the #2 most common pesticide to be found in a national survey.

So just how dangerous is this?
Studies have shown that it has a greater negative impact on aquatic life and there are moderate toxic threats to humans and animals. It must be mentioned that Atrazine can enter the body by being taken orally, inhaled and absorbed through the skin. The length of time to the exposure of this herbicide dictates the types of symptoms that one may experience. These could range from vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, or irritation to the eyes and mucous membranes, applicable to short term exposure. For those submitted to long term exposure the symptoms could include kidney, heart, and lung congestion, low blood pressure, muscle spasms, weight loss and damaged adrenal glands.

Are there suspicions on the rise?
Some areas in the USA have more exposure to Atrazine than others. There are some concerns rising that in some areas there may be more occurrences of babies being with gastrochisis, and the question is beginning to surface whether these occurrences could be linked to the higher use of Atrazine in these areas. This is a new concern that has surfaced and as a result of these no studies have been conducted as yet to prove this suspicion as being a valid concern. It would seem that to conduct such a study is considered too expensive although it is hard to phantom how a price tag could be placed on a human life.

Gastrochisis is a birth defect. It is where the intestines of the infant grow outside of the body instead of internally.

So the bottom line is are we really winning the war against the potentially harmful effects of pesticides and herbicides? I think not! But then that is just my opinion.