SOYBEAN
Mode: Photosynthetic Inhibitor
Herbicide: Atrazine, Metribuzin
Injury: Lower leaves display interveinal chlorosis with necrotic
margins
Condition: Carryover of atrazine or high rate of metribuzin
SOYBEAN
Mode: Photosynthetic Inhibitor
Herbicide: Atrazine, Metribuzin
Injury: Lower leaves go from chlorotic to necrotic, fall off of stem,
and in severe cases, complete death of plant
Condition: Carryover of atrazine or high rate of metribuzin; both herbicides are influenced by high soil pH making the herbicides more available to cause injury; eroded knolls in field are likely areas where injury may occur
Atrazine - Background and Updates
Atrazine is a widely used herbicide that can be applied before and after planting to control broadleaf and grassy weeds. Atrazine is part of the triazine chemical class, which includes simazine and propazine due to their common mechanism of toxicity. It is primarily used in agriculture (with the greatest use on corn, sorghum, and sugarcane). To a lesser extent, it is used on residential lawns and golf courses, particularly in Florida and the Southeast.The Agency's oversight of atrazine is dynamic and includes periodic pesticide re-evaluation and intensive monitoring programs. Over the years, the Agency has consulted with the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) on a variety of atrazine topics.
On this page:
Registration Review of Atrazine
Atrazine is undergoing registration review, our periodic re-evaluation program for existing pesticides. All documents related to the registration review of atrazine can be found in the registration review docket: EPA-HQ-OPP-2013-0266. In particular:- The Preliminary Work Plan (June 2013) described our process for reevaluating atrazine, recent actions, planned human health and ecological risk assessments, and the expected review timeline.
- The Final Work Plan (December 2013) addressed public comments received on the Preliminary Work Plan and finalized our anticipated schedule for registration review.
- Draft Atrazine Ecological Risk Assessment (June 2016) evaluates risks to animals and plants.
Additional Information
Additional information on atrazine’s registration review, reregistration, and food tolerance reassessment is available in the atrazine dockets:| Docket # at regulations.gov | Docket Title and/or SAP Title |
|---|---|
| EPA-HQ-OPP-2003-0367 | Atrazine Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision (IRED) |
| EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0481 | Triazine Cumulative Risk Assessment |
| EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0759 | Presentation of the Atrazine Reevaluation Plan |
| EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0851 | Draft Framework and Case Studies on Atrazine, Human Incidents, and the Agricultural Health Study: Incorporation of Epidemiology and Human Incident Data into Human Health Risk Assessment |
| EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0125 | Re-Evaluation of Human Health Effects of Atrazine: Review of Experimental Animal and In Vitro Studies and Drinking Water Monitoring Frequency |
| EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0481 | Re-Evaluation of Human Health Effects of Atrazine: Review of Non-Cancer Effects and Drinking Water Monitoring Frequency |
| EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0399 | Re-Evaluation of Human Health Effects of Atrazine: Review of Non-Cancer Effects, Drinking Water Monitoring Frequency, and Cancer Epidemiology |
| EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0230 | Problem Formulation for Reassessment of Ecological Risks from Use of Atrazine |
| EPA-HQ-OPP-2013-0266 | Atrazine Registration Review |
Atrazine Monitoring Program - Drinking Water
The Atrazine Monitoring Program (AMP) monitors approximately 150 community drinking water systems (CWS), primarily in the Midwest, to determine whether concentrations of atrazine and its chemical degradates pose a risk to public health. This monitoring program is required as a result of the 2003 Atrazine Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision (IRED) and the Memorandum of Agreement (2004).- 2006 Atrazine Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) (PDF) (323 pp, 1.9 MB, About PDF) This document contains the January 2003 IRED and October 2003 revised IRED.
- Memorandum of Agreement with registrants (2004) (PDF) (36 pp, 132 K, About PDF)
- Any CWS with a total combined triazine (TCT) concentration exceeding the trigger values of 2.6 ppb for finished water or 12.5 ppb for raw water over a 90-day rolling average will be inducted into the AMP intensive water monitoring program for 5 years. Pesticide registrants implement the AMP.
- If any CWS in the AMP meets or exceeds the trigger value for one year, registrants must submit a mitigation plan and begin implementation within 90 days of the exceedance.
- If any CWS in the AMP meets or exceeds the trigger value for 2 out of 5 consecutive years, atrazine use is banned in the water system’s watershed.
- If any CWS in the AMP does not exceed a TCT concentration of 37.5 ppb for five consecutive years, intensive monitoring can be terminated.
View Atrazine Monitoring Program Data and Results
Atrazine Ecological Exposure Monitoring Program
The Atrazine Ecological Exposure Monitoring Program assesses atrazine levels in streams in watersheds that are exposed to atrazine runoff from corn and sorghum production (small streams, high atrazine use areas, and vulnerable soils). This monitoring program is required as a result of the 2003 Atrazine Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision and the Memorandum of Agreement (2004).- 2006 Atrazine Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision (PDF) (323 pp, 1.9 MB, About PDF) This document contains the January 2003 IRED and October 2003 revised IRED.
- Memorandum of Agreement with registrants (2004) (PDF) (36 pp, 132 K, About PDF)
If a watershed shows atrazine concentrations above this level of concern in any two years of monitoring, atrazine registrants must initiate watershed-based mitigation activities in concert with state or local watershed programs to reduce atrazine exposure. These mitigation activities can include, for example, label education, stewardship and outreach programs for growers and distributors. A watershed can be decommissioned from the monitoring program if the 60-day running average falls below the CE-LOC for two consecutive years.
- Since the program's inception, up to 33 watersheds have been monitored for atrazine in corn-, sorghum- and sugarcane-producing areas.
- As of 2015, nine watersheds in five states (Iowa, Texas, Missouri, Louisiana and Nebraska) are in the monitoring program.
- As of 2013, all sugarcane sites were decommissioned from the monitoring program.
- The registrant has addressed exceedances by implementing label education, stewardship, and outreach programs in these watersheds, and is attempting to quantify the impact and effectiveness of the mitigation activities through a grower survey.
Triazine Cumulative Risk Assessment
Atrazine is chemically related to two other herbicides, simazine and propazine, which together are called "triazines." The triazines have a common mechanism of toxicity, and are often evaluated together in cumulative risk assessments. As part of EPA’s registration review process, the Agency is currently conducting an updated cumulative human health risk assessment for the triazines. EPA expects to issue this risk assessment in 2016.The Agency conducted a triazine cumulative human health risk assessment in 2006, which concluded:
- Cumulative exposures to atrazine and simazine through food and drinking water are safe and meet the rigorous human health standards set forth in the Food Quality Protection Act.
- Levels of atrazine and simazine that Americans are exposed to in their food and drinking water, combined, are below the level that would potentially cause health effects.
Triazine Ecological Risk Assessments
EPA released the draft ecological risk assessments for atrazine, simazine and propazine, which evaluate risks to animals and plants including, amphibians, birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, aquatic invertebrates, aquatic plant communities, and terrestrial plants. For ecological risks, each of the triazines (atrazine, propazine, and simazine) was assessed separately.FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel Meetings on Atrazine
The Agency has consulted with the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel on 12 occasions on various topics regarding the evaluation of atrazine data and key aspects of its risk assessments since 2000, all of which are listed in the table below. The SAP is composed of independent scientists who advise on technically challenging scientific assessment issues.=====================
Senate oversight hearing examines atrazine, anhydrous regulations
IFT photo by Bill Tiedje
During a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in Dubuque on Aug. 17, Sens. Ron Johnson and Joni Ernst questioned witnesses on the impacts of federal regulations in agriculture.
August 25, 2016 9:09 am • By Bill Tiedje, Iowa Farmer Today
DUBUQUE — Federal regulation of the broadleaf herbicide atrazine and safety compliance requirements for retailers of anhydrous fertilizer were among the topics discussed Aug. 17 at a Senate oversight hearing held by Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Joni Ernst of Iowa.
Jim Zimmerman, a board member of the National Corn Growers Association who farms near Rosendale, Wis., testified the EPA’s call for a reduction in the allowable environmental concentration of atrazine in its standard 15-year reevaluation of the herbicide would be “practically unachievable” and would represent a “de-facto ban” on the use of atrazine.
“One of the most important tools I use on my farm is the herbicide atrazine — and I am far from alone in this regard,” Zimmerman said. “Atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States — used on well over half of corn and sorghum acres and on as much as 90 percent of sugarcane acres.”
Zimmerman also questioned the validity of the EPA’s studies used in the “Refined Ecological Risk Assessment for Atrazine” released this June, citing “50 years of safe use.”
Responding to questioning from Johnson, Zimmerman declined to speculate why the EPA would want to limit use of atrazine.
“The point is if you can take a product that has been proven safe and used for over 50 years and you can minimize it, you can do anything. Then pretty much everything is at risk,” Zimmerman said.
The comment period on the draft ecological risk assessment of atrazine is open until Oct. 4.
A human health assessment for atrazine, propazine and simazine is also currently under review by the EPA and is expected to be released in 2016, according to the agency’s website.
Anhydrous retailer exemption
In her introductory remarks, Ernst criticized the Obama Administration for routinely “skirting the rulemaking process” and ignoring Congressional intent.
Ernst stated that in reclassifying process safety management (PSM) exemptions for retailers, including farmer-owned cooperatives that supply anhydrous, the Department of Labor did not go through the formal rulemaking process, denying many affected stakeholders, including farmers, the chance to comment.
“The changes OSHA has made will be difficult for the companies to implement and will yield little if any safety benefits,” Ernst said. “Further, they will costs these retailers tens of thousands of dollars per site, costs that will ultimately be passed on to the family farms that they serve.”
Ernst said the agency now plans to go through the formal rulemaking process, but still expects farmer-owned cooperatives to be in compliance with the changes this October.
The cost of regulation
Rick Vaughan, CEO of Innovative Ag Services, a farmer/member-owned cooperative with locations in eastern Iowa and southwest Wisconsin, testified that the estimated cost of implementing the new PSM requirements would be $725,112, or $28,856 per location.
He estimated at a total annual cost of $10,646 per location, including a five-year amortization of upfront costs plus $5,275 in ongoing annual costs per location, the cost of PSM compliance would equate to $10.31/ton of anhydrous.
“Today we are spending 64 cents per ton to invest in our current anhydrous training,” Vaughan said. “We do not believe the PSM will improve our safety performance.”
He said the company strives to create a safe work environment for its employees and currently invests $17,765 each year to train employees to safely handle anhydrous.
Vaughan said, “We will be forced to close 16 of our 27 plants (59 percent), affecting 389 (35 percent) of our customers. This will affect our other business with these same customers. This will put more anhydrous ammonia loaded trips and miles on the road.”
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), retailer compliance with the new rule may include “modifications to existing management system elements such as: standard operating procedures, hazard analyses, employee participation in the development and implementation of the process safety management systems, reviews prior to startup of new or modified processes, welding safety procedures and safety implications of process or equipment changes affecting covered chemicals.”
Ernst said the rule would lead to reduced competition in the anhydrous market and may cause smaller retailers to exit the market.
Ernst also stated the West Fertilizer plant explosion, which preceded this regulatory push, was caused by arson.
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Farmers oppose EPA’s proposed Atrazine restrictions
August 17, 2016 By Larry Lee Filed Under: Crops, News
Farmers are asking Congress to stop the EPA’s attempt to put more regulation on Atrazine use. Among those testifying Wednesday at a Senate committee field hearing was Wisconsin farmer and National Corn Growers board member Jim Zimmerman. Zimmerman tells Brownfield that EPA’s plan to drop the “Level of Concern” from 10 to only 3-point-4 parts per billion is unacceptable. “If it is at this level which they’re advocating, it would make it virtually impossible for us to use the product or use it at a rate that would mean anything to us.”
Zimmerman told the committee Atrazine has been proven safe in over 7,000 tests around the world, and the EPA hasn’t given adequate scientific grounds for its recommendations. “We do not believe that they are using procedure or policy that has been outlined for them to do reviews, and so all we’re asking for is that we have some oversight, and that they do follow the procedures and use the best science we have available.”
Zimmerman says there are other products on the market, but the key is to have a number of herbicides available to prevent over-use of one product as part of an effective resistance management plan.
Committee Chairman Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said, “We’ve reached a point where the annual regulatory burden is around $2 trillion.” He wants to eliminate unnecessary and burdensome federal regulations, saying, “We pile layer upon layer upon layer of new regulations atop the old ones without acknowledging that they may be doing little to improve the environment or make food safer.” Zimmerman told Brownfield, “We want a predictable regulatory system where we can all operate with clarity on how to move forward.”
Zimmerman says the cost of losing Atrazine would be both financial and environmental, since growers would be forced to do less no-till and low-till to control weeds…leading to increased soil erosion from traditional tillage. He says, “Atrazine is a safe product, and we want to make sure we have access to it.”