U.S. Water News Online
BALTIMORE -- An environmental group sued the federal government, seeking a ban on the nation's most widely used herbicide -- a weed killer they say is polluting the Chesapeake Bay and other major waterways.
The National Resources Defense Council said in its suit against the Environmental Protection Agency that atrazine, which is banned in many European countries, may be causing untold ravages.
The suit alleges the EPA has ignored the risks to sea turtles in the Chesapeake Bay, mussels in Alabama, salamanders in Texas and sturgeon in the Midwest.
Many of the risks have been spelled out during the past year in the agency's reports, according to the lawsuit.
``EPA's risk assessments acknowledge potential harmful effects of atrazine -- both directly and indirectly -- on endangered fish, aquatic invertebrates, terrestrial plants and aquatic plants,'' said the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
David Deegan, an EPA spokesman, declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying no one at the agency had seen it.
But Deegan said that despite scientific studies that link atrazine with environmental problems, ``There has not been a consensus about the conclusions of these studies or exactly what they say.''
Aaron Colangelo, a lawyer for the NRDC, said the lawsuit was filed in Baltimore because Chesapeake Bay species are particularly susceptible. Of the 21 endangered species identified in the lawsuit as threatened by atrazine, six are in the bay watershed.
Atrazine has been banned by Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden, but is the most commonly used weed killer in North America. Farmers spray it on corn, soybeans and sugar. Road crews and golf-course managers have used it since 1958, and it can be found in rainwater, snow runoff and groundwater.
Deegan said the EPA is reviewing all of the studies and data available on atrazine to determine if it should continue to be sold in the U.S.
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