The pesticides are highest in summer months when pesticide applications run off farms and contaminate rivers and reservoirs. A new federal law passed in 1996, The Food Quality Protection Act, requires that before allowing a pesticide to be used by farmers, the federal government must take into account all exposures to the pesticides, including exposure via drinking water. Cohen believes these new regulations will require pesticide companies and the federal government to remove certain cancer-causing weed killers, like Atrazine, from the market. When water comes through intake pipes, it has weed killers in it. It's costing millions of dollars across the Midwest.
Consumers have to pick up the tab.
In preparing their study, the Environmental Working Group used tests performed by government agencies, the pesticide industry, and by local activists who tested their own home tap water. Several agencies disagreed with the study's findings. Farmers need pesticides to protect their crops from weeds, insects and diseases, according to John Fisher, vice-president of the Ohio Farm Bureau. The pesticides found in drinking water are applied according to EPA guidelines by farmers and certified applicators trained under the requirements of the Ohio Department of Agriculture. There are no serious problems with pesticides in the drinking water in the state, Fisher said.