Herbicide Investigated

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Wednesday that it will investigate the risks associated with atrazine, despite the Bush administration declaring it safe in 2003. Atrazine is one of the most common herbicides used in US agriculture and is mostly applied to corn, sorghum, and sugarcane. Atrazine producer Syngenta says the 50-year-old pesticide “is among the best and most extensively researched crop protection products in the world,” but research suggests it could be harmful. To decide whether or not there should be stricter regulations governing the chemical, the EPA will focus on the herbicide’s possibly cancer-causing effects and its potential to cause problems in newborns.