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Ranchers.net

I am told atrazine is commonly used on corn and soyabean.

Interestingly, my earlier post re: Dr. John Giesy (environmental toxicologist) soon coming to the University of Saskatchewan to chair the new Canadian research department on "environmental toxicology", specializes in POPs or persistant organic pollutants (see definition below). Atrazine is considered a very bad POP.

Are you still using this in the USA, or even in Canada? We don't use sprays so I am not aware myself.


EU Bans Atrazine
The European Union has also officially banned atrazine, a toxic herbicide that is both a carcinogen and endocrine disruptor. The decision was made after alarming concentrations of the Syngenta chemical have been turning up in waterways all over the world. On the other side of the pond, atrazine recently received reapproval by the Bush-led EPA. Atrazine is currently the most commonly used herbicide in the US, where 60 million pounds were applied in 2003 alone. The water supply in much of the US corn belt is contaminated with atrazine and other toxic chemicals routinely used in conventional agriculture.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a class of chemicals that persist in the environment, are capable of long-range transport, bioaccumulate in human and animal tissue, and have significant impacts on human health and the environment. They include such substances as dioxin, PCBs, DDT, brominated flame-retardants or tributyltin (TBT). POPs released to the environment can travel through air and water to regions far distant from their original source.
The general trend of POPs is the following:

Synthesis/development.
Increased use over large areas in Europe and North America.
Concerns over their persistence, bioaccumulation and bioconcentration.
Restricted use.
Reduced emissions, as well as bans and controls.
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