Atrazine Toxicology and Distribution throughout Public Water Systems in the United States

Atrazine is the most commonly used herbicide in the United States and has been shown to cause serious adverse health effects in humans. These health effects include, but are not limited to prostate, breast, ovarian, and stomach cancer, tumors, and non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Previous research suggests that atrazine primarily targets the reproductive system and developing organisms. Some studies suggest atrazine may have carcinogenic properties. A survey of farm couples in Ontario, Canada showed a weak to moderate association between atrazine use in the yard and an increase in preterm delivery. In Iowa, an association was found between communities exposed to atrazine in drinking water and an increased risk of intrauterine growth retardation and cardiac, urogenital and limb reduction effects. An association between atrazine exposure and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma has been found in several studies. Suggestive evidence between atrazine exposure and an increased risk of prostate, breast and ovarian cancer has been reported.

To investigate the extent of atrazine contamination in the United States, SWAPE requested data from every state via the Freedom of Information Act.   Atrazine detection data, including concentration and date of detection, from 43 states were compiled and evaluated. Approximately 1,373 water systems across the nation have detected atrazine in drinking water.  These water systems serve drinking water to over 31 million people, or approximately 10% of the population.  Atrazine can effectively be filtered to some extent with powdered activated carbon and filtered to non-detect using activated carbon in treatment vessels.