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EPA: Revoke Approval of Atrazine!

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to review pesticides and herbicides approved for use in the US every fifteen years. The agency just completed its updated environmental impact assessment of atrazine, the second most widely used herbicide.

In its 500-page draft report, the EPA found that atrazine, which is produced by biotech giant Syngenta, can be dangerous to animals and fish—and leaves behind a troubling amount of residue. According to the report, atrazine exceeds the agency’s “levels of concern” for chronic risks to animals and fish by 198 times and 62 times, respectively. Despite the length of the report, the EPA found it convenient to omit all discussion of atrazine’s risk to humans, promising to return to that subject in the future.

Aside from serious impacts on the environment, animals, and fish, there is evidence that atrazine is dangerous to humans as well. One analysis of towns in the “corn belt” found that tap water in some communities contained fourteen times the legally allowed amount of atrazine. In some towns, infants reached their maximum lifetime safe dosage of atrazine in less than four months. This analysis was done in the late 1990s—and levels are almost certainly worse, since more and more of the stuff is being dumped on crops each year.

Due to these serious safety concerns, I urge the EPA to revoke atrazine's pesticide registration immediately so it can no longer be dumped on American crops.

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Please revoke atrazine's approval

Dear [Decision Maker],

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]