Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013C00288:reg:5:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013C00288
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 5 (pt 1/5)
Character Range: 2636092–2639234

5                   Atrazine

5.1              General
Several comprehensive reviews of atrazine in the environment and its toxicity to humans are available and should be consulted for more detailed information not presented in this summary (ATSDR 2003; NRA 1997; APVMA 2008; IARC 1999). The following provides a summary of the key aspects of atrazine that are relevant to the derivation of a soil HIL.

Atrazine is the common name for the compound 6-chloro-N2-ethyl-N4-isopropyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine which is an odourless white powder or colourless crystal (ATSDR 2003). Commercially manufactured atrazine is typically greater that 90% pure. Common impurities include dichlorotriazines, hydroxytriazines, tris(alkyl)aminotriazines, simazine, propazine and sodium chloride (ATSDR 2003). Atrazine is manufactured as a liquid, granules or wettable powder and can also be formulated in combination with other herbicides such as ametryn, amitrole, hexazinone, metalochlor, glyphosate and dicamba (NRA 1997).

Atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicides in Australian agriculture and has been used since the 1960s (NRA 1997). It is primarily used to control broadleaf weeds and some grasses between crops such as sorghum, maize, lupins, sugar cane and triazine-tolerant canola. Atrazine is also widely used to control weeds and some grasses by the forestry industry in pine and eucalyptus plantations (NRA 1997; NHMRC 2011). Non-agricultural uses in Australia such as the spraying of weeds along fence lines, irrigation channels, drains, driveways and footpaths were discontinued in 1995 (NRA 1997).

Regulatory actions (by the National Registration Authority for Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals [APVMA]) undertaken in 1997 included cancellation of industrial and non-agricultural uses of atrazine (home garden uses and all commercial turf uses), deletion of use patterns and maximum residue limits (MRLs) for label claims for which there were no current use patterns (citrus, grapes and pineapples) and the introduction of a range of label instructions to reduce the risk of atrazine entering waterways. In addition, registrants were required to provide additional residue and monitoring data.

The APVMA has initiated a project to re-examine the possibility that the triazines (atrazine and related chemicals with a similar MoA) may have unintended harmful effects on humans, taking into account ongoing research into a newly hypothesised endocrine MoA. This project will take into account international reports, such as the work of the Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR).

Registrants who have a product whose label specifies a claim for weed control on triazine-tolerant canola will be required to either generate additional data or include an additional label restraint that specifies that atrazine must not be used post-emergence on triazine-tolerant canola grown on raised beds.

After consideration of the additional assessments completed after 1997, APVMA accepts the recommendations of OCS and the 2004 recommendations of DEWHA, and the following regulatory actions have been applied:
    1. Active constituent