Quantcast
Channel: greenrightnow.com » amphibians
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

Frog advocates say it’s time to leap into the atrazine debate

0
0

From Green Right Now Reports

FROG -- Save the Frogs ....Litoria-Fallax-Eastern-Sedge-Frog-ds-a

The Litoria Fallax Eastern Sedge Frog (Photo: Save the Frogs)

Atrazine, a pesticide used on crops that’s been derided as causing the feminization of frogs, among other environmental harms, is up for review this summer.

Dr. Kerry Kriger, founder of Save the Frogs, calls atrazine “everybody’s favorite endocrine-disrupting, frog-altering, ‘already banned in Europe’ pesticide that contaminates 94 percent of America’s tap water sources and is sprayed by the millions of kilograms onto our corn each year.”

Kriger’s description sums up the problems with this pesticide. It’s been around for so long, and has a well-documented history of playing havoc with amphibians, who easily absorb the chemical through their skin. Atrazine is such a well-known endocrine disrupter that household water filters often call it out (along with lead, chlorine and other chemicals) as one of the contaminants being screened out.

The EPA, however, has approved atrazine for use in agriculture, and has concluded that the pesticide “does not adversely affect amphibian gonadal development,” though that conclusion is based in part on studies by the pesticide manufacturer, Syngenta.

This year the pesticide is up for a routine re-review required by law. Dr. Kriger sees this as an opportunity to let the EPA know that atrazine is at least partly to blame for the worldwide loss of frogs, and may also be harming human health.

He hopes people will submit comments to the EPA when it opens the case for public comment, a move that’s expected this summer.

Find out more about atrazine at Save the Frogs and at the EPA’s atrazine webpage.

 


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images