Sorghum Growers: EPA Risk Assessment for Atrazine Departs from Science
LUBBOCK, Texas — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released its Draft Triazine Ecological Risk Assessments. The assessment determined the herbicide atrazine poses ecological risk to plants and animals including amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals, which according to the National Sorghum Producers departs from extensive scientific research proving the safety of atrazine.
“National Sorghum Producers strongly disagrees with the methodology the EPA used to arrive at these results,” said Past Chairman J.B. Stewart, a sorghum farmer from Keyes, Oklahoma. “We feel the agency has abandoned a science-based approach even including studies in the review that the agency’s own 2012 Scientific Advisory Panel said were flawed. The EPA has ignored years of analyses that show atrazine is safe. It’s one of the most studied chemicals in the U.S. and has been a proven and dependable herbicide for more than 50 years.”
National Sorghum Producers will soon be actively seeking input from its grower community once the draft ecological assessment is published in the Federal Register. EPA will be accepting public comments for 60 days after that time. After receiving and reviewing public comments, the agency will amend the assessments, as appropriate, the EPA said in a statement.
“This is a tool our farmers cannot stand to lose,” said NSP CEO Tim Lust. “The EPA continually brings forth challenges for the farm community and chooses to ignore the science, underscoring the importance to have a united and vocal showing from our farm community about the importance of this important crop-protection tool.”
Lust said NSP will continue to work with the EPA, Congress and the White House to help bring logic and science back to the assessment process.
Atrazine is being reviewed as part of the 15-year chemical re-registration process that started in 2007. The full study is available at epa.gov, and for future details on how to comment on the issue, visit sorghumgrowers.com.
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National Sorghum Producers represents U.S. sorghum producers and serves as the voice of the sorghum industry coast to coast through legislative representation, regulatory representation and education. To learn more about NSP, visit www.sorghumgrowers.com