By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed its latest scientific advisory panel (SAP) meeting earlier this month as part of its effort to reevaluate the safety of atrazine, a popular agricultural herbicide.

This is the fourth SAP meeting since the EPA announced it would reevaluate the human health effects, if any, of atrazine. Atrazine is used most extensively on corn, often in combination with other herbicides to help fight resistance to the other chemicals.

“One of (EPA) Administrator (Lisa) Jackson’s top priorities is to improve the way EPA manages and assesses the risk of chemicals, including pesticides, and as part of that effort, we are taking a hard look at the decision made by the previous administration on atrazine,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances last October. “Our examination of atrazine will be based on transparency and sound science.”

The agency is also planning at least one more meeting for next year to discuss the potential effects of atrazine on amphibians and aquatic ecosystems. People who use atrazine on their crops question the claim about the soundness of the science behind the effort to reevaluate atrazine. The Triazine Network, an industry group formed to fight efforts to scrutinize atrazine, compares this latest effort to the campaign against Alar, a pesticide used on apples before a widespread and successful campaign to ban it, spearheaded by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Most if not all of the claims made about the ill effects of Alar turned out to be false. The same environmental group produced an influential report last year critical of atrazine.

The report generated media buzz, which in turned created political pressure to have atrazine reevaluated, according to Jere White, executive director of the Kansas Corn Growers Assoc. White also said trial lawyers have been looking around for water systems to join in a class action suit against the makers of atrazine.

White spoke at the latest SAP meeting, along with Gary Marshall, executive director of the Missouri Corn Growers Assoc., and David Bridges, president of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Ga. All three spoke as part of the Triazine Network.

“I would like to talk to you today about the importance of atrazine to farmers in Missouri,” Marshall said at the meeting. “Since its introduction, atrazine has been the workhorse of nearly all weed management programs in corn production. Farmers have relied on its effectiveness, safety and the economic value it brings to corn production.

“Still today, atrazine remains an integral part of most weed programs either as the main component or as an important tank mix partner. It is tools like atrazine that allow our farmers to produce an ample and safe food supply that is the envy of the world.”

Marshall also said atrazine is needed now more than ever because of the emergence of glyphosate-resistant weeds.

In his presentation, Bridges said the loss of atrazine would result in a return to conventional tillage, an increase in soil erosion and a number of other environmental ills. He also said it would result in the loss of 48,000 jobs related to corn production.

“These herbicides are essential for agricultural production,” Bridges said. “Massive changes will occur with unrealistic regulation of these herbicides.”

The EPA did not respond to a request for a comment on the latest SAP meeting.