EPA Proposes Increasing Permissible Levels of Pesticide Atrazine in Agriculture

Atrazine is one of the most prevalent herbicides in the United States, while it’s banned in the European Union.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed raising the permissible concentration levels of atrazine at which it estimates the pesticide could potentially harm aquatic plants in agricultural sites.

Atrazine is a herbicide widely used for controlling broadleaf and grass weeds in agricultural crops. The EPA proposed on Dec. 3 to increase the atrazine levels to 9.7 micrograms per liter—nearly three times higher than the current 3.4 micrograms limit.

The agency stated in its proposal that the new measure is intended to provide growers with “maximum level of flexibility” in their use of atrazine on agricultural crops.

Atrazine is primarily used on field corn, sweet corn, sorghum, and sugarcane. More than half of the acres planted with these crops in the United States are treated with atrazine every year, according to the EPA.

The use of atrazine boosts grower net operating value by up to $30 per acre for field corn, $52 per acre for sweet corn, $16 per acre for sorghum, and $13 for sugarcane compared to other weed control options, it said.

“Atrazine is an important herbicide in these crops because it is economical, has a flexible use pattern, long residual herbicidal activity, is effective against a broad spectrum of weeds, and is an important tool in management of herbicide-resistant weeds,” the agency stated.

The EPA said it would use the concentration equivalent level of concern, or CE-LOC, to determine whether mitigation measures are necessary to prevent “detrimental changes” to aquatic plants and the ecosystem from the use of atrazine.

The agency first unveiled its proposal in July, but the latest version contains mitigation measures to reduce atrazine runoff in vulnerable watersheds, including prohibiting application during rain and when soils are saturated or above field capacity.

In an earlier statement, the EPA said the revised atrazine concentration levels have led to the removal of millions of acres from the 2022 map of watersheds that were expected to exceed the CE-LOC, while also adding “a smaller number of acres” in some areas.

Dave Rylander, president of IL Corn Growers Association, said on Aug. 1 that the group supported the EPA’s proposed atrazine levels, but noted that the mitigation maps of impact areas were problematic.

“The change in the CE-LOC is good, but if EPA continues to use the flawed modeling methodology resulting in bad mitigation maps, they null any progress made and fail to rely on sound science,” he said in a statement.

Some environmental advocates have opposed the limit change, citing the risks atrazine poses to human health. Atrazine is an endocrine disruptor and previous studies have found that it is linked to breast cancer.

Beyond Pesticides, a nonprofit organization advocating against pesticide use, said in August that the EPA’s measure for analyzing atrazine levels “lacks any sense of precaution.”

“The agency acknowledges many risks of concern associated with the uses of atrazine, but asserts the serious worker and ecological risks remaining after adoption of all proposed mitigation measures are outweighed by the benefits of atrazine use,” the group stated.

Atrazine is widely used in the United States and also applied on other crops such as macadamia nuts and turf grass, but it has been banned in the European Union.

In October, Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) introduced a legislation aimed at banning “the use, production, sale, importation, or exportation” of atrazine products.

“Despite its well-documented risks to human health and its environmental impact, atrazine remains the second most used herbicide in the United States,” Nadler said in a statement.

“It is well past time for our nation to make a crucial transition from atrazine to safer and more sustainable practices,” he added.

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