I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2044 

To prohibit the use, production, sale, importation, or exportation of any 

pesticide containing atrazine. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 17, 2013 

Mr. ELLISON (for himself, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 

MORAN, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Foreign Affairs, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To prohibit the use, production, sale, importation, or 

exportation of any pesticide containing atrazine. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Atrazine, a weed-killing pesticide, is the 

6 most widely used herbicide in the United States. The 

7 United States annually uses 65,000,000 to 

8 80,000,000 pounds of atrazine. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2044 IH

1 (2) The toxicity of atrazine is well documented 

2 and has shown to have adverse endocrine effects in 

3 amphibians, mammals, and humans. There is evi4 dence that atrazine exposure is associated with small 

5 birth weight, abnormal development of the gut wall 

6 in infants, and spontaneous abortions. In laboratory 

7 mammals, exposure is associated with abnormal re8 productive system development, impaired prostate 

9 gland formation, and abnormal breast tissue devel10 opment. In aquatic wildlife, exposure is associated 

11 with abnormal reproductive system development, im12 paired reproduction, and impaired immune system 

13 function. 

14 (3) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service 

15 acknowledges that atrazine may have potential ad16 verse effects on fish, such as organ tissue disease, 

17 disruption to the endocrine and olfactory systems, 

18 and reduced reproductive function. 

19 (4) The United States Geological Survey found 

20 atrazine in approximately 85 percent of stream 

21 waters and 40 percent of all ground water samples 

22 from agricultural areas tested. The United States 

23 Geological Survey has found that atrazine has the 

24 highest frequency of detection of all pesticides in ag25 ricultural streams, and the highest frequency of deVerDate Mar 15 2010 19:34 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2044.IH H2044

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2044 IH

1 tection of all herbicides in urban streams. According 

2 to data from the Environmental Protection Agency 

3 Ecological Watershed Monitoring Program, the sur4 face water sampled in the Midwestern and Southern 

5 United States suffers from pervasive atrazine con6 tamination. Sampling of watersheds between 2004 

7 and 2006 showed that all 40 watersheds tested had 

8 detectable levels of atrazine, and 25 watersheds had 

9 average concentrations above 1 ppb. While these av10 erage elevated concentrations of atrazine are worri11 some, high peak concentrations may also be dan12 gerous. Nine watersheds had at least one sample 

13 showing levels above 50 ppb, and four watersheds 

14 had levels above 100 ppb. 

15 (5) According to data from the Environmental 

16 Protection Agency Atrazine Monitoring Program, 

17 high levels of atrazine are also evident in drinking 

18 water systems. More than 90 percent of the samples 

19 taken in 139 water systems had measurable levels of 

20 atrazine in both 2003 and 2004. Three systems had 

21 annual averages exceeding 3 ppb. 

22 (6) In 1991, Germany and Italy banned the use 

23 of atrazine. In 2003, European regulators an24 nounced a ban on the pesticide throughout the Euro25 pean Union. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2044 IH

1 (7) The Department of Agriculture estimates 

2 that a ban on atrazine would result in crop losses of 

3 only 1.19 percent and decrease corn acreage by only 

4 2.3 percent. Since banning atrazine nearly 20 years 

5 ago, both Italy and Germany have not experienced 

6 a reduction of corn productivity or total acreage of 

7 land in production. 

8 SEC. 2. ATRAZINE PROHIBITION. 

9 Notwithstanding any other law, the use, production, 

10 sale, importation, or exportation of atrazine or an atrazine 

11 product is prohibited. 

12 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT. 

13 Any person who violates section 2 shall be fined 

14 under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not 

15 more than 2 years, or both. 

16 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) ATRAZINE.—The term ‘‘atrazine’’ or ‘‘active 

19 ingredient atrazine’’ refers to the pesticide chemical 

20 2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1,3,5-tri21 azine. 

22 (2) ATRAZINE PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘atrazine 

23 product’’ means any pesticide containing the active 

24 ingredient atrazine, as identified on the EnvironVerDate Mar 15 2010 19:34 May 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2044.IH H2044

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2044 IH

1 mental Protection Agency registered label, either 

2 alone or in a combination with other pesticides. 

Æ 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS