Atrazine Evaluation Conference Call with Technical Registrants

October 7, 2009

10:30 – 11:00 a.m. EST

Conference Call Requested By: EPA Office of Pesticide Programs

Participants:

Office of Pesticide Programs, EPA – Robert McNally, Steven Bradbury, Peter Caulkins, Catherine Eiden, and Carol Stangel

Atrazine Technical Registrants –

SYNGENTA Dan Campbell

1-336-632-7627 [Also on the call: Janis McFarland]

AGAN CHEM MFG, LTD

MAKHTESHIM-AGAN OF NORTH AMERICA INC Jennifer Yentel, (919) 256-9300 Ephi Gur, (919) 256-9318, ephi@manainc.com

DREXEL CHEMICAL COMPANY

Luz G. Chan (901) 774-4370

lchan@drexchem.com

OXON ITALIA S.P.A. SIPCAM AGRO USA, INC Joseph W. Burley (770) 594-6356 jburley@sipcamadvan.com

Meeting Summary:

EPA discussed with the atrazine technical registran ts the Agency’s announcement that it is launching a comprehensive new evaluation of the pes ticide atrazine based on transparency and sound science, including independent scientific pee r review by the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP). The evaluation will help determine wh ether a change in EPA’s regulatory position on atrazine is appropriate. At the end of this pro cess, the Agency will decide whether to revise

its current atrazine risk assessment and whether ne w restrictions are necessary to better protect public health.2

EPA explained that the Agency will engage the SAP t o reevaluate the human health effects of atrazine over the coming year, including an informa tional presentation in November 2009 and three meetings with the Panel in February, April an d September 2010. The SAP meetings will be open to the public. At the conclusion of this e valuation of atrazine’s human health effects, EPA will ask the SAP to review atrazine’s potential effects on amphibians and aquatic

ecosystems.

In addition to conducting this science evaluation, EPA will be exploring better ways to inform the public more quickly about results of atrazine d rinking water monitoring. Also, EPA briefly discussed some potential changes to the 2003 Memora ndum of Agreement that would address some concerns raised in recent media reports.

Specifically, concern has been expressed about sing le day spikes of atrazine in drinking water that could present a potential health concern. A o ne-day level of concern (LOC) of 298 ppb was established in the 2003 risk assessment. (Currentl y, the highest one-day level of atrazine in drinking water that EPA is aware of is 89 ppb). EP A would like to modify the Atrazine Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to include the follow ing: 1) exceedance of the 298 ppb one-day level of conce rn in raw or finished drinking would result in prohibition of atrazine use in the waters hed associated with the drinking water

system. 2) in a subset of Community Water Systems (CWS) in the current monitoring program, during a period of high atrazine use, pilot daily m onitoring over a finite period -- maybe a month -- to see if higher spikes are occurring that the current monitoring is missing. These data might be useful for SAP consideration re garding the monitoring frequency.

Concern also has been expressed about drinking wate r monitoring data being available to local communities in a timely fashion. EPA would like to discuss ways to provide these data to interested parties more quickly.

Concern has been expressed about whether EPA's perf ormance standard for drinking water is sufficiently protective, since EPA is regulating on an intermediate-term exposure effect. The Atrazine MOA currently states that atrazine use is prohibited in the watershed associated with a CWS when 2 exceedances of 37.5 ppb as a 90 day roll ing average in raw drinking water have occurred in that CWS. Rather than prohibiting atra zine use in the watershed after 2 exceedances in a 5 year period, EPA would like to modify this p rovision to prohibit atrazine use in the watershed after one exceedance in a 5 year period. (There has not been any exceedance of 37.5 ppb as a 90 day rolling average since the monitorin g program was established in 2003).

EPA will schedule follow-up meetings with the techn ical registrants in the near future to continue this discussion of potential changes to th e MOA.

Meeting Summary Prepared by: Robert McNally