Unreported pesticide in some drinking water

Earlier this week the New York Times began a section of stories called Toxic Waters – a look at the worsening pollution of America’s waters. To continue SocialYell’s discussion on water safety I wanted to highlight the first article in the series: Debating How Much Weed Killer is Safe in Your Water Glass.

Atrazine is a common weed killer used on farms, golf courses and lawns across the country.  The chemical can wash into watersheds and drinking water supplies are monitored for contamination. Officials are required to report increases in atrazine to consumers. The Times investigation found that in some areas concentrations had spiked but the rise was not reported to residents.

Studies on the health impacts of atrazine done after regulations for the chemical were put into place have shown new information. Exposure may cause serious developmental effects during times of fetal development.

“There are short, critical times — like when a fetus’s brain is developing — when chemicals can have disastrous impacts, even in very small concentrations,” said Deborah A. Cory-Slechta, a professor at the University of Rochester in New York who has studied atrazine’s effects on the brain and serves on the E.P.A.’s science advisory board. “The way the E.P.A. tests chemicals can vastly underestimate risks.”

“There’s still a huge amount we don’t know about atrazine,” she added.

Well, I’m going to pick up a water filter…Yell out your thoughts!

Elizabeth Ulion is a graduate student at Northwestern University.

Photo courtesy of lindyireland/Flickr