A Plague of Frogs: What Does the Battle over Atrazine Mean for Agriculture and Agrochemicals?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stands at the center of a storm over the re-registration of atrazine, one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. Atrazine is being reviewed as part of EPA’s ongoing program to evaluate older pesticides to ensure that they meet current health and environmental safety standards; the agency’s review entails a comprehensive reassessment of existing restrictions on the use of the herbicide. Recent scientific reports have suggested that atrazine disrupts the hormonal systems of certain amphibians, and may be linked to worldwide population declines among these species. These studies have been challenged by other scientists, however, who claim that the evidence of such effects is inconclusive.