EPA has failed to tackle cancer-linked pesticide pollution, lawsuit alleges

A new lawsuit asks a federal judge to order the Trump administration to address widespread pollution from the hormone-disrupting pesticide atrazine – which has regularly been found at levels that threaten wildlife and human health.

The cancer-linked chemical is now contaminating nearly 25%, or about 860,000 miles, of all continental US rivers, according to a recent review of federal records. The waterways cover more than 20% of surface drinking water intakes across the country, and more than 675,000 private and commercial wells.

The suit alleges that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has for decades failed under the Clean Water Act to address the surface-water pollution. It asks a federal court to order the EPA to develop quality standards for the chemicals.

The EPA was supposed to put a plan in place in 1999, but has not yet done so. Another plan it developed under the nation’s pesticide laws, instead of the water laws, would only address about 1% of atrazine pollution, according to a peer-reviewed study.

“It is absolutely insane that atrazine is one of the most widespread water contaminants and it isn’t even be properly regulated under the Clean Water Act,” said Nathan Donley, environmental health science director with the Center For Biological Diversity, a non-profit that is among the lead plaintiffs. “The fact that it doesn’t have any [limits] is bonkers and goes to show how little they’ve done.”

Atrazine is the second most widely used pesticide in the US, with about 70m pounds sprayed on cropland annually. It can have severe impacts on human and animal hormones, especially for developing children. The pesticide was found to “chemically castrate” frogs and cause some to change sex. It is so dangerous that it has been effectively banned in 60 countries, including the European Union, since 2003, and California this month proposed adding it to its carcinogen list.

The EPA’s plan to rein in pollution under the pesticide laws appears good on paper, but is “worthless” upon closer scrutiny, Donley said. It would require farmers who spray the maximum amount allowed under the law to reduce their use. But very few farmers spray the maximum amount, so the effect would be negligible, Donley said.

The EPA plan also offers a “menu” of about 30 actions from which farmers can choose to reduce the amount of atrazine runoff from farmland. But many of the options include actions like keeping a log of the amount of pesticide the farmer uses, which does not actually do anything to reduce runoff, Donley said.

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“Where the rubber hits the road, the EPA plan does not do a damn thing,” Donley said. The chemical is such a problem because it is highly mobile and easily washes into waterways, and it is persistent, meaning it does not break down. The only real solution was a ban, Donley said.

“The rest of the world is banning this incredibly dangerous pesticide. Why is Trump’s EPA continuing to push this poison on people?” he added.