| Have you ever been driving down the road with the | | | | Glyphosate: |
| windows open going past a golf course or a field and | | | | Common Trade names: Roundup, Sonic, Rodeo, |
| then you get a strange smell? A chemical type of | | | | Tumbleweed, |
| odor? Or go walking in the country and notice a large | | | | General Uses: Used on many food crops and |
| area, usually a field, all brown with dead grass. And | | | | roadsides |
| next to it, alive green grasses and shrubs? Chances | | | | Amount Used Annually: 18.7 million pounds recently |
| are you smell a herbicide being used or you are | | | | Short Term health Effects: congestion of the lungs, |
| seeing what it can do to vegetation. | | | | increases breathing rate |
| Then you start to wonder. Are those chemicals | | | | Long Term Health Effects: kidney damage, |
| getting into the water table? Is wildlife eating the | | | | reproductive effects |
| “treated” vegetation and insects tainted with | | | | Ground Water Implications: It strongly adheres to the |
| the chemicals? Or maybe we are taking in the toxins | | | | soil with little potential for leaching to ground water. |
| and not even realizing it. It could possibly be in the | | | | (EPA Consumer Fact Sheet) |
| foods we eat, the air we are breathing everyday or | | | | Endothall: |
| the water that we are drinking. | | | | Common Trade names:Accelerate, Endothall Turf |
| DDT is a colorless contact insecticide that is very | | | | Herbicide, Herbicide 273, |
| toxic. It became banned in the early 1970’s. | | | | General Uses: Used on many food crops and control |
| Gaylord Nelson, a great environmentalist while in | | | | aquatic weeds |
| office in the state of Wisconsin diliengtly worked to | | | | Amount Used Annually: 1.5 million pounds in 1982 |
| get DDT banned in Wisconsin. | | | | Short Term health Effects: depressed breathing and |
| DDT even though restricted is still used in Mexico to | | | | increase heart rate |
| control malaria. The National Institute of Public Health | | | | Long Term Health Effects: increase size of some |
| of Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico concluded from a | | | | organs. |
| study that the use of DDT has been linked to breast | | | | Ground Water Implications: It can leach through the |
| cancer in Mexico. In another study done by the | | | | soil into the ground water. |
| University of Michigan, it was found that chemical | | | | (EPA Consumer Fact Sheet) |
| factory workers that made DDT also had a high risk | | | | Dinoseb: |
| of pancreatic cancer from the overexposure of DDT. | | | | Common Trade names:Dow Selective Weed Killer, |
| Unfortunately, DDT is still being manufactured and | | | | Hel-fire, Caldon, Knox-weed, Premerge, |
| used in tropical areas for malaria control. | | | | General Uses: used for cereal crops |
| Below are some of the herbicides used today. This is | | | | Amount Used Annually: 6.2 million pounds in 1982 |
| not a complete listing of all of the herbicides on the | | | | Short Term health Effects: sweating, mood swings, |
| market. The short term and long term side effects is | | | | headache |
| based that the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) | | | | Long Term Health Effects: decreased body and |
| goes over a certain marker for parts per billion (ppb) | | | | thyroid weight, degeneration of testes,. |
| in the water. For example Simazine is 4 ppb or 4 | | | | Ground Water Implications: It can leach through the |
| parts per billion in drinking water. | | | | soil into the ground water. Degrades very slowly. |
| Simazine: | | | | (EPA Consumer Fact Sheet) |
| Common Trade names: Herbazine, Herbex, Surflan | | | | Atrazine: |
| General Uses: Corn Crops, Christmas Trees | | | | Common Trade names:Aatex, Candex, Atred, Cyazin, |
| Amount Used Annually: 4.8 billion pounds estimated in | | | | Griffex Primatol, |
| 1985 | | | | General Uses: used for corn and soybean crops |
| Short Term health Effects: weight loss, changes in | | | | Amount Used Annually: No figures are known, 2nd |
| blood | | | | highest herbicide used |
| Long Term Health Effects: tremors, damage to | | | | Short Term health Effects: congestion of the heart, |
| testes, kidneys, liver, thyroid, cancer | | | | lungs, and kidneys, low blood pressure, muscle |
| Ground Water Implications: It may leach to ground | | | | spasms, weight loss, damage to adrenal glands |
| water. It can last from a few months to years. | | | | Long Term Health Effects: weight loss, cardiovascular |
| (EPA Consumer Fact Sheet) | | | | damage, retinal and muscle degeneration, and cancer |
| Picloram: | | | | Ground Water Implications: It can leach through the |
| Common Trade names: Agent White, Tordon | | | | soil into the ground water. Degrades very slowly. |
| General Uses: Control annual weeds | | | | Very powerful herbicide. |
| Amount Used Annually: 300,000 pounds estimated in | | | | (EPA Consumer Fact Sheet) |
| 1982 | | | | Taking in consideration that municipalities have their |
| Short Term health Effects: weight loss, damage to | | | | water tested on a regular basis, this does not take |
| the nervous system | | | | into account the urban and rural areas with its own |
| Long Term Health Effects: liver damage | | | | private wells. Generally that is where a lot of |
| Ground Water Implications: It may leach to ground | | | | herbicide is used for crops. Also in the city locations |
| water. It can last from a few months to years | | | | one has to take in account the air you breathe. |
| (EPA Consumer Fact Sheet) | | | | |