Tougher Restrictions On Herbicide Atrazine

The analysis of pesticides sometimes requires large-volume water samples to detect pesticides that are toxic at low concentrations. This is a view of a pump used to collect samples from the San Joaquin River near Vernalis, Calif.

Atrazine is a herbicide for controlling weeds that compete with desirable plants such as food crops, pasture, and other types of agriculture, as well as golf course turf and residential lawns. One of the most widely used pesticides in the U.S., atrazine is also among the most intensively examined pesticides in the marketplace. The herbicide atrazine, widely used on corn, sorghum and sugar, has come under new scrutiny in the United States, and that could have implications for the chemical's future use in America and Australia.

The US is considering the possible new restrictions on Atrazine after a study showed elevated levels of the possible carcinogen in municipal water supplies.