Atrazine is a weed killer applied to corn fields to kill broadleaf weeds. It is cheap and can be applied rain or shine since it does not dissolve in water.
Atrazine runs off corn fields into lakes, rivers, streams and eventually our drinking water.
Novartis Crop Protection, Inc., a subsidiary of the Swiss Ciba-Geigy Corporation, makes atrazine, as well as DDT and other chemicals. Atrazine has been on the market for nearly 50 years and is now the top-selling weed killer in the United States. It is banned in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, France, and Norway. Atrazine is extremely dangerous. This safety standard for water is inadequate because it is an annual average exposure set for the tolerances of a 160 pound adult male.