EPA fails to inform Public about Weed-Killer in drinking water
I came across a very disturbing article this morning while reading the “Huffington Post”
EPA failed to let us know “US” the public that a may be hazardous material is added to our drinking water
We are thinking about a thousand innovative ways on how to recycle plastic and how Plastic recycling is affecting our environment so we are not buying or at least diminishing buying bottled water so we will not add to the landfills of waste, and here is EPA “Environmental Protection Agency” and the emphasis is on Protection fails to bring to our attention that a Weed-Killer i.e. chemicals are added to our day to day drinking water.
The Weed-Killing chemical is “Atrazine” and it has been found that records that tracked the amount of the weed-killer Atrazine in about 150 watersheds from 2003 through 2008.
While EPA claims that the amounts used didn’t exceed the federal safety limits. I wonder so why we were not informed about it, so we can make a consciousness choice of using that water or finding other alternatives
Atrazine is an herbicide that does not occur naturally. Pure Atrazine is an odorless, white powder that is not very volatile, reactive, or flammable and that will dissolve in water.
Atrazine is used to kill weeds, primarily on farms, but has also been used on highway and railroad rights-of-way. The EPA now restricts how Atrazine can be used and applied; only trained people are allowed to spray it. (As per the ATSDR homage: Agency for Toxic Substances & Diseases Registry) this is the link to their website:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/substances/toxsubstance.asp?toxid=59
So again I wonder if the EPA has restricted the use of Atrazine why is it used and has been used in our drinking water for the last 5 years
What alarms me are the Health Effects caused by Atrazine? (Published on the EPA website)
- Short-term: EPA has found Atrazine to potentially cause the following health effects when people are exposed to it at levels above the MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level) for relatively short periods of time: congestion of heart, lungs and kidneys; low blood pressure; muscle spasms; weight loss; damage to adrenal glands.
- Long-term: Atrazine has the potential to cause the following effects from a lifetime exposure at levels above the MCL: weight loss, cardiovascular damage, retinal and some muscle degeneration; cancer.
http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/contaminants/dw_contamfs/atrazine.html
Atrazine also is a known endocrine disruptor that affects hormones in both humans and animals. It has been also tied to poor sperm quality in humans and hermaphroditic amphibians. Some scientists are worried about exposing children and pregnant women to the pesticide, as small doses could impact development of their brain and reproductive systems.
I am attaching a link to the summary of a report about the subject prepared by the NRDC (National Resources Defense Council) so you can make up my own mind
http://www.nrdc.org/health/atrazine/files/fatrazine.pdf
The advice given is if you are concerned about this, you should install a water filter in your house that such as one that fits on the tap.
Now I have few questions:
- Will it be safe even if we use the water filter
- Why we were not as consumers informed about something that affects our lives, our health and our reproduction cycles
- We are trying to save and protect the animal species or extinguish them like in this case the Amphibians
- Should we or shouldn’t we use bottled water, but wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of handling the plastic recycling as not to affect our environment
I am really puzzled and worried, your comments are welcome. For the record the Pesticide has been totally banned in Europe
Video Credits go to “Huffington Post”
Sahar Andrade
Guest Blogger at “Eco-Chamber”: www.ecochamber.com
www.linkedin.com/in/saharandrade
