Atrazine Fact Sheet

Atrazine is an herbicide used primarily on farms and along highways and railroads. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandates that only trained people are allowed to spray this substance, which controls broadleaf and grassy weeds.

General Safety

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) states that the general public is likely not exposed to atrazine. Researchers rarely find it in food samples, and although it can wash into waterways, it does not accumulate in fish or other living organisms.

Residential and Work Factors

• People living and working on a farm can be exposed to atrazine if it is sprayed there. Workers who apply the spray and those employed in factories where atrazine is made also can be exposed to the substance.

Other Risk Factors

• People can be exposed to atrazine by drinking water from contaminated wells, swimming in contaminated waterways and digging in dirt containing atrazine. The EPA has determined that 3 parts per billion of atrazine in well water is safe.

Animal Research

• Researchers have found that animal exposure to high levels of atrazine is associated with liver, kidney and heart damage. Pregnant animals produced some offspring with birth defects and low birth weight. Atrazine is also associated with developmental defects in tadpoles.

Pregnancy Considerations

• According to HHS, some pregnant women exposed to atrazine gave birth early or had babies with slow growth rates. However, these women were also exposed to other chemicals that may have been responsible for these effects.