[All] Fw: Lake Erie Source Water Protection Committee : re ATRAZINE

[Louisette Lanteigne]

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From: Louisette Lanteigne <butterflybluelu at rogers.com>
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Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 11:34:36 AM
Subject: Lake Erie Source Water Protection Committee : re ATRAZINE


Hon. Ministers, please review the following information regarding the use of the broad leaf pesticide Atrazine in the Grand River Watershed, a water supply that provides for over 1 million people. I would like to see a study initiated to see if the elevated breast and prostate cancers along the Grand River are linked to the use of this particular chemical.

Dear Mr. Schultz
Please forward this to the Lake Erie Source Water Protection Committee on my behalf please.

Thank you

Louisette Lanteigne
700 Star Flower Ave.
Waterloo Ont.
N2V 2L2
________________________________

Dear Source Water Protection Committee members

Atrazine is the largest pesticide being used over the Grand River Watershed over corn and soya crops and it was already banned in the UK for it's endocrine disrupting properties. It's linked to breast and prostate cancers as well. These two cancers exist all along communities along the Grand RIver beyond provincial averages as I observed by reviewing the annual reports by public health departments. I am concerned about intensified farming related to extended growing seasons associated with Climate Change and how additional loadings of Atrazine could impact our watershed well, river water quality and human health. We need to investigate the breast and prostate cancers to see if affected areas co-relate to either direct exposure to Atrazine use or to atrazine in municipal water supplies and secure 12 month seasonal analysis to monitor for delta levels. 

Currently all pesticides used, sold or imported into Canada are regulated by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) of Health Canada. In 2004 they did tests in Waterloo Region to re-evaluate the safety of  Atrazine. The  Information provided by the EPA played a key roll in this re-evaluation and The Pest Management Regulatory Agency of Health Canada has concluded that "all the uses of Atrazine do not entail an unacceptable risk to human health".

 What this study failed to mention is fact that Atrazine is banned by the European Union. It is banned in France, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden because it has proven endocrine-disrupting properties and it has toxic impacts on wildlife in existing water systems in concentrations as low as 2.16 ppb.

http://www.hawkeshealth.net/community/showthread.php?t=3609&page=1

This chemical alters the sex of frogs. This fact has been proven independently in labs in Japan, Canada and the US. It is linked to breast cancer and prostate cancer. These findings are supported by research conducted by the World Health Organization, Berkley University and several international research facilities.

In spite of the related health risks, the EPA still chose not to limit the use of atrazine. Ron
 Kendall, the chairman of EPA’s scientific advisory panel is a former employee of Syngenta, the manufacturer of Atrazine. In fact he ran the lab that did all of Syngenta's work.

Syngata has a problem right now with men experiencing high levels of prostate cancers in their factory in Louisiana.

 The US Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) has filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court in Washington, D.C. on February 17, 2005 citing that the US EPA has illegally negotiated secret agreements with industry lobbyists over pesticide regulations concerning Atrazine and Dichlorvos.

In Canada, Jay Bradshaw, the president of Syngenta Canada sits on the steering committee for Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency in Guelph.

A Breast Cancer forum in Cambridge Ontario used deformed frogs found in Laurel Creek in Waterloo to illustrate how polluted water can result in abnormal growth of cells. Currently the GRCA reports that male fish are currently developing female physical traits in the Grand River. These factors may be linked to Atrazine.

Dr. Brian Dixon an immunologist at U of Waterloo, has done some research with pesticides including a study on DDT and malathion in Point Pelee. He studied frogs and found that very low doses of pesticides suppress the immune system, leading to health issues. He wanted to do more work on atrazine but couldn't get the funding. Perhaps with assistance via the GRCA or other
water related agency, we can help fund his research.

In Waterloo Region in 1998, 20,451 kg of triazine herbicides were used on all crops. Atrazine was the most highly used triatizine applied. The concentrations that caused frog deformaties were low enough to be considered safe for drinking water comsumption based on current EPA standards.

I believe Canada should make the effort to include
 international scientific studies from several independent bodies to formulate our test results beyond just the EPA scope otherwise we may compromise public health and our ecology.


The leading researcher on the issue is Tyrone Haynes. He states:  “Atrazine increases aromatase and/or estrogen production in zebra fish, goldfish, caimans, alligators, turtles, quail and rats,” Hayes points out. "So this is not just a frog problem.”

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=sex-changing-weed-killer

Currently the EPA is looking for public information to consider a ban the chemical in the US:  http://www.awwa.org/publications/breakingnewsdetail.cfm?itemnumber=57543

It is my hope that we can prohibit the use of Atrazine over top source areas and adjacent to the Grand River as part of the Source Water Protection Act. Commercial alternatives exist.

Thank you kindly for your time

Lousiette Lanteigne
700 Star Flower Ave.
Waterloo OntarioN2V 2L2
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