This document presents information on the herbicide atrazine, including its widespread use, environmental impacts, and health effects. It discusses how atrazine is the most commonly detected water contaminant in the Midwest US and has been banned in the EU. The document also summarizes research showing that atrazine is an endocrine disruptor that has been linked to reproductive issues in animals and is considered a potential human carcinogen.

2. Name
Aafaq Ali
Class
M.Phil 1st Sem
Topic
Atrazine in Envir0nment
Presented To
Dr.Khushi Mohammad
Department Of Botany
University Of Lahore(Sargodha Campus)

3. Atrazine

4. Introduction
Since its introduction in 1958, atrazine has
become the most widely used herbicide in the
United States.
It is the top-selling product for Syngenta, the
largest chemical corporation in the world.
Atrazine has become the most frequently
detected contaminant of ground, surface, and
drinking water in the Midwestern United States
(U.S.), and is one of the most controversial “crop
protectors” on the market.

5. Used initially to control the growth of annual
broadleaf weeds on such row crops as corn and
sugarcane
Atrazine is now applied to commercial golf
courses, industrial centers, lawns, and along
roadsides.
According to the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), over 76 million pounds of atrazine
are applied to crops each year.
Despite its widespread use in the U.S.the
European Union banned atrazine in 2003, citing it
as a major contributor to water contamination.

6. Atrazine Cycle In The Enviornment

7. Characteristics Of Atrazine
Atrazine is a chlorotriazine and its chemical
properties make it prone to leaching and runoff.
 According to the Agency for Toxic Substance and
Disease Registry (ATSDR), once atrazine is applied
to the soil, it can remain there for days or months.
 It is usually broken down, however, within one
growing season.
Nonetheless,( ‫بہر‬
‫حال‬ ) any atrazine that enters
the groundwater or surface waterways through run-
off or leaching can remain for a much longer time
because the chemical is slow to breakdown in water.

8. This is one reason why people living
near agricultural fields oftentimes find atrazine in
their drinking water.
If atrazine enters the air, other reactive chemicals
in the air can break it down—unless atrazine
attaches to dust particles.
In this case, breakdown is not expected. When this
happens, the wind can carry atrazine-laden dust
particles long distances from the original application
area.
 Atrazine has been detected in rainwater more than
180 miles (300 kilometers) from where it was
applied.

9. Adverse Health Effects Of Atrazine
Recent studies indicate that atrazine is
an endocrine disruptor that interferes with hormone
synthesis, secretion, receptor binding, activity or
degradation.
One of the first researchers to investigate the
effects of environmental exposures to atrazine in
wildlife was Tyrone B. Hayes, a biology professor at
the University of California, Berkeley.
He reported that just 0.1 parts per billion (ppb) of
atrazine in male leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) and in
African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis), caused
gonadal deformities, multiple testes, nonpigmented
ovaries, hermaphrodites, and chemical castration

10. Tyrone B. Hayes

11. Northern Leopard Frog
African clawed frogs

13. Several other studies indicate that atrazine causes
reproductive, developmental, and behavioral effects in
other species, including salmon, turtles, and rats.
 One study on late stage pregnancy of Long-Evans
rats concluded that exposure to atrazine at levels as
low as 0.09 mg/kg (parts per million or ppm) body
weight caused alterations in mammary gland
development.
Few studies have confirmed a definite link between
atrazine and adverse human health effects, however,
studies performed on rodents resulted in the EPA
classifying atrazine as a possible“human Carcinogen”.

14. Estimated Annual Agriculture Use

15. Long-Evans rats

16. Human Exposure to Atrazine
The Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease
Registry has published a Public Health Statement for
Atrazine that reviews important routes of exposure.
Briefly, the ATSDR notes that people who live near
agricultural areas, golf courses, roadsides, or other
areas subject to herbicide applications may be
exposed to atrazine.
 Farm workers and other individuals who apply
atrazine are highly susceptible to exposure and
although atrazine is not frequently detected in the air,
air concentrations may be higher near production and
disposal facilities, or areas where it is heavily applied.

17. People may be exposed to atrazine if they come
in direct contact with dirt that has atrazine in it.
For this reason, children are susceptible to this
route of exposure.
Additionally, atrazine can contaminate drinking
water supplies—the main route of exposure for
humans.
While it is applied to many crops, atrazine has
not been detected readily in food samples. In
those cases where it was detected, levels were
low.
According to the ATSDR, exposure to atrazine
via food consumption is unlikely

18. Atrazine In Drinking Water
The Environmental Protection Agency, through
the Safe Drinking Water Act, monitors and enforces a
maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 3.0 parts per
billion (ppb) of atrazine in public drinking water.
A recent United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) study reported, however, annual mean
concentrations of atrazine that exceeded the MCL in
public drinking sources.
 They found rivers (the Missouri, Mississippi, Wabash,
Maumee, and Sandusky), streams (in Illinois, Ohio and
Indiana), and water supply reservoirs (in Kansas,
Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, and Illinois) with
atrazine concentrations above the maximum contaminant
level.

19. References
Consumer Factsheet on Atrazine 2006. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Environmental Characteristics of Atrazine 1994. United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
Hazard Ranking System 2005. EPA.
Public Health Statement for Atrazine. 2008. Encyclopedia of Earth.
Belden, J. and Lydy, M.J. 2000. Impact of atrazine on organophosphate insecticide
toxicity.Environmental Toxicology, 19: 2266-2274.
Dinan, Frank J. 2006. Kermit to Kermette? Does the herbicide Atrazine feminize
male frogs? Journal of College Science Teaching, 10: 38-42.
Enoch, R.R., Stanko, J.P., Greiner, S.N., Youngblood, G.I., Rayner, J.L., and
Fenton, S.F. 2007. Mammary gland development as a sensitive end point after acute
prenatal exposure to an atrazine metabolic mixture in female Long-Evans
rats. Environmental Health Perspectives, 115 (4): 541-547.
Hayes, Tyrone, B. 2004. There is no denying this: defusing the confusion about
atrazine. Bioscience, 54 (12): 1138-1149.
Hayes, Tyrone B. 2005. Welcome to the revolution:integrative biology and
assessing the impact of endocrine disruptors on environmental and public
health. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 45 (2): 321-329.
Hayes, T.B., Stuart, A.A., Mendoza, M., Collins, A., Noriega, N., Vonk,A.,
Johnston, G., Liu, R., and

20. Hayes, Tyrone B. 2005. Welcome to the revolution:integrative biology
and assessing the impact of endocrine disruptors on environmental and
public health. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 45 (2): 321-329.
Hayes, T.B., Stuart, A.A., Mendoza, M., Collins, A., Noriega, N.,
Vonk,A., Johnston, G., Liu, R., and Kpodzo, D. 2006. Characterization of
Atrazine-induced gonadal malformations in African Clawed frogs
(Xenopus laevis) and comparisons with effects of an androgen Antagonist
(Cyproterone Acetate) and Exogenous Estrogen (17b-Estradiol): Support
for the Demasculinization/Feminization Hypothesis.Environmental Health
Perspectives, 114: 134-142.
Hoagland, K.D., Drenner, R.W., Smith, J.D. and Cross, D.R. 1993
Freshwater community responses to mixtures of agricultural
pesticides:effects of atrazine and bifenthrin Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 12:
627-637.
Moore, Andrew and Waring, Colin P. 1998. Mechanistic effects of a
Triazine pesticide on reproductive endocrine function in mature male
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) parr. Pesticide Biochemistry and
Physiology, 62: 41-50.
Neuman-Lee, L.A. and Janzen, F.J. 2005. Effects of atrazine on map
turtle (Graptemys) development and behavior. Integrative and Comparative
Biology, 45 (6): 1171.
Popov, V.H., Cornish, P.S., S

21. Kpodzo, D. 2006. Characterization of Atrazine-induced gonadal
malformations in African Clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) and
comparisons with effects of an androgen Antagonist (Cyproterone
Acetate) and Exogenous Estrogen (17b-Estradiol): Support for the
Demasculinization/Feminization Hypothesis.Environmental Health
Perspectives, 114: 134-142.
Hoagland, K.D., Drenner, R.W., Smith, J.D. and Cross, D.R.
1993 Freshwater community responses to mixtures of agricultural
pesticides:effects of atrazine and bifenthrin Environ. Toxicol.
Chem. 12: 627-637.
Moore, Andrew and Waring, Colin P. 1998. Mechanistic effects
of a Triazine pesticide on reproductive endocrine function in
mature male Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) parr. Pesticide
Biochemistry and Physiology, 62: 41-50.
Neuman-Lee, L.A. and Janzen, F.J. 2005. Effects of atrazine on
map turtle (Graptemys) development and behavior. Integrative and
Comparative Biology, 45 (6): 1171.
Popov, V.H., Cornish, P.S., S