A commonly used herbicide known as atrazine has shown up in well water all across the country and despite the USEPA knowing it poses a credible dabger to humans if consumed in too great a quantity, you don’t hear about too many people in government working to keep atrazine out of the public water supply — except for Congressman Keith Ellison from Minnesota.
A member of Congress is seeking to ban one of the nation’s most widely-used herbicides, which has turned up in drinking water in some states. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) is for the second time proposing legislation that would outlaw any use or trade of atrazine.
Atrazine is most commonly sprayed on cornfields, and can run off into rivers and streams that supply drinking water. As the Huffington Post Investigative Fund reported in a series of articles last fall, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency failed to warn the public that the weed-killer had been found at levels above federal safety limits in drinking water in at least four states. A coalition of Midwestern communities — along with the nation’s largest private water utility — is suing atrazine’s manufacturer, Syngenta, seeking to have it pay to filter the chemical from public water.
Steven Goldman, spokesman for Syngenta, did not comment specifically on the proposed bill or on the prospect of a nationwide ban.
Read more: U.S. Congressman Renews Attempts to Ban Controversial Herbicide Atrazine
Not sure if your drinking water contains atrazine or other potentially harmful drinking water contaminants? The following information about testing for atrazine might come in handy, then:
 Pesticide in Water Test Atrazine & Simazine 2 Tests for Each |
 National Testing Labs 83 Water Parameters 20 Pesticides/Herbicides |
Want our advice? Of course you do!
If you live w/in 50 to 100 miles of an agricultural area and have a well, or your local water system draws from a well located near agricultural areas, either get your water tested for atrazine as well as other pesticides and herbicides several times a year — especially after periods of heavy rain and/or runoff.
Test kits such as the Pesticide Test Kit for atrazine and simazine work well as occasional screening methods but when it comes to giving the final word on whether or not your water contains harmful contaminants, always turn to the experts at a certified drinking water testing lab such as National Testing Labs.
