Atrazine Human Health Re-Evaluation

Conference Call with Technical Registrants

October 7, 2009

10:30 – 11:00 a.m. EDT

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,   HYPERLINK "mailto:ephi@manainc.com" 
ephi@manainc.com  

DREXEL CHEMICAL COMPANY

Luz G. Chan

(901) 774-4370

  HYPERLINK "mailto:lchan@drexchem.com"  lchan@drexchem.com  

OXON ITALIA S.P.A.

SIPCAM AGRO USA, INC

Joseph W. Burley 

(770) 594-6356

  HYPERLINK "mailto:jburley@sipcamadvan.com"  jburley@sipcamadvan.com  

Meeting Summary: 

EPA discussed with the atrazine technical registrants the Agency’s
announcement that it is launching a comprehensive new evaluation of the
pesticide atrazine based on transparency and sound science, including
independent scientific peer review by the FIFRA Scientific Advisory
Panel (SAP).  The evaluation will help determine whether a change in
EPA’s regulatory position on atrazine is appropriate.  At the end of
this process, the Agency will decide whether to revise its current
atrazine risk assessment and whether new restrictions are necessary to
better protect public health.

EPA explained that the Agency will engage the SAP to reevaluate the
human health effects of atrazine over the coming year, including an
informational presentation in November 2009 and three meetings with the
Panel in February, April and September 2010.  The SAP meetings will be
open to the public.  At the conclusion of this evaluation 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
drinking water monitoring.  Also, EPA briefly discussed some potential
changes to the 2003 Memorandum of Agreement that would address some
concerns raised in recent media reports. 

Specifically, concern has been expressed about single day spikes of
atrazine in drinking water that could present a potential health
concern.  A one-day level of concern (LOC) of 298 ppb was established in
the 2003 risk assessment.  (Currently, the highest one-day level of
atrazine in drinking water that EPA is aware of is 89 ppb).  EPA would
like to modify the Atrazine Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to include the
following: 

1) exceedance of the 298 ppb one-day level of concern in raw or finished
drinking would result in prohibition of atrazine use in the watershed
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
monitoring 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 regarding the monitoring
frequency.

  

Concern also has been expressed about drinking water 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 performance 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 rolling average in raw
drinking water have occurred in that CWS.  Rather than prohibiting
atrazine use in the watershed after 2 exceedances in a 5 year period,
EPA would like to modify this provision 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
monitoring program was established in 2003). 

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

Meeting Summary Prepared by:  Robert McNally

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