Atrazine expert to visit Australia

Friends of the Earth is proud to announce the visit of Dr Tyrone Hayes to Australia in June.

Tyrone B. Hayes is a PhD Professor at the Laboratory for Integrative Studies in Amphibian Biology, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley USA. His research has shown that low doses of the herbicide Atrazine can chemically castrate frogs in doses as low as 0.1 parts per billion. His work has massive ramifications not only for frog populations, but people as well.

Check out his website: http://www.atrazinelovers.com

Dr Hayes will be speaking in Melbourne on June 20 as well as Launceston (venues and times will be announced shortly).

Melbourne:

5pm, Wednesday 20th of June

RMIT Research Lounge, Bldg 28, Level 5

(opposite Library – entry via Bldg 8 and just up the escalator)

Launceston:

Saturday June 23rd 2007 7pm

Tailrace Centre, West Tamar Road Riverside (opp Trevallyn Power Station) 

Featuring:
Tyrone B Hayes - Professor Intergrative Biology at UCLA
Dr Alison Bleaney - GP
Mike Bolan - Complex Systems Consultant

FoEA is working with National Toxics Network on this tour.

For further details contact: anthonyamis@hotmail.com

Background: Why Atrazine Must Be Banned

Author: Anthony Amis

After Glyphosate (average annual use of 15,000 tonnes), Atrazine is probably the second most commonly used herbicide in Australia. Atrazine use in 2002 was about 3000 tonnes per year. Another triazine based herbicide, Simazine also averages about 3000 tonnes.

Atrazine is a selective systematic herbicide which provides knockdown and residual action for control of many broad-leafed weeds and some grasses in forestry and agricultural crops. Its use is dominated by the rapid increase in triazine tolerant (TT) canola being grown particularly in Western Australia and Victoria since 1994. Current canola cropping amounts to over 2 million hectares in Australia.

Research conducted by Professor Tyrone Hayes, a Professor of Intergrative Biology at UCLA has for several years alerted us about the dangers of Atrazine in the environment and its potential impact on human beings. Hayes found that Atrazine detected in water, can interfere with hormones in frogs. Atrazine at levels of 0.1µg/L (0.1 parts per billion) turns on an enzyme in frogs (Aromastase) which converts testosterone hormones into estrogen. Effectively chemically castrating male frogs. Of special concern is the fact that the aromostase gene sequence and regulation in frogs is the same as humans. If Atrazine has such an impact on frogs what about people?

Atrazine has commonly been detected in surface and groundwater in Australia. The current Health Value for Atrazine in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines is 40 µg/L or 400 times above the amount which Hayes has detected as impacting on the hormones of frogs (and humans).

Of further concern Hayes, through a series of field studies has determined that mixtures of pesticides, as is often the case in agricultural areas, have severe developmental impacts on frogs including immune system suppression which in turn severely hampers the ability of the frogs to fight off pathogens. Pesticide exposed frogs were found to have 5 times the amount of corticoids (stress hormones) which also lead to decreased growth, retarded development and inhibited metamorphisis. 70% of animals exposed to mixtures of pesticides have suppressed immune systems and were unable to fight off pathogens. Hayes proved this connection via a series of experiments including the Salinas River catchment in California, which is heavily impacted by agricultural pesticides.

Like Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring in the early 1960’s, Hayes has received criticism from the pesticide industry, in particular the company Novartis/Syngenta who initially contacted Hayes in 1998 to conduct the research into Atrazine. Needless to say Syngenta were not happy with the results Hayes found and have claimed that Hayes’s results have not been able to be replicated, even though they have. Hayes has also hit a ‘brick wall’ with the US EPA who in regards to the decision to ban Atrazine recently said; “The ultimate decision is much bigger than Science”. Could this because 80 million pounds of Atrazine is used in the US each year on corn, sorghum, sugarcane and forestry?

Other studies have also confirmed impacts on mammals, including decreases in testosterone in male rats exposed to atrazine. Rats have also been shown to develop prostate and mammary cancer, immune failure, abortion, impaired mammary development, prostate disease and neural damage. Women exposed to atrazine via well water have been shown to have a higher risk of getting breast cancer and men working in factories where atrazine is produced have an 8% increase in the risk of getting prostate cancer.

Hayes message can be summed up the following way;

1. Low doses matter.

2. High doses do not predict low dose effects

3. One compound can have many effects

4. Early exposure is important and effects can cross generations

5. Effects in rodents predict effects in humans