Observations placeholder
Contamination of American drinking water and cancer
Identifier
008346
Type of Spiritual Experience
None
Background
background paper
Wikipedia
Atrazine is a herbicide of the triazine class. Atrazine is used to prevent pre- and postemergence broadleaf weeds in crops such as maize (corn) and sugarcane and on turf, such as golf courses and residential lawns. It is one of the most widely used herbicides in US[2] and Australian agriculture.[3] It was banned in the European Union in October 2003, when the EU found groundwater levels exceeding the limits set by regulators, and Syngenta could neither show that this could be prevented nor that these levels were safe.[4][5]
As of 2001, atrazine was the most commonly detected pesticide contaminating drinking water in the United States.[6]:44 Studies suggest it is an endocrine disruptor, an agent that can alter the natural hormonal system.
A description of the experience
Environ Health Insights. 2013;7:15-27. doi: 10.4137/EHI.S10629. Epub 2013 Mar 3. Atrazine and nitrate in public drinking water supplies and non-hodgkin lymphoma in nebraska, USA. Rhoades MG1, Meza JL, Beseler CL, Shea PJ, Kahle A, Vose JM, Eskridge KM, Spalding RF.
A secondary analysis of 1999-2002 Nebraska case-control data was conducted to assess the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) associated with exposure to nitrate- and atrazine-contaminated drinking water. Water chemistry data were collected and weighted by well contribution and proximity of residence to water supply, followed by logistic regression to determine odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). We found no association between NHL risk and exposure to drinking water containing atrazine or nitrate alone. Risk associated with the interaction of nitrate and atrazine in drinking water was elevated (OR, 2.5; CI, 1.0-6.2). Risk of indolent B-cell lymphoma was higher than risk of aggressive B-cell lymphoma (indolent: OR, 3.5; CI, 1.0-11.6 vs. aggressive: OR, 1.9; CI, 0.6-5.58). This increased risk may be due to in vivo formation and subsequent metabolism of N-nitrosoatrazine. A larger study is warranted to confirm our findings.
KEYWORDS:
NHL; atrazine; drinking water; nitrate; nitrosamines
PMID: 23515852