Transcript Slide 1

Environmental Assessment &
Monitoring Regime for ATRAZINE
in Drinking Water for Kentucky
Ifechukwude Okwechime
Department of Public Health
Western Kentucky University
March 26, 2011
Overview
• Objectives
• Background information
•
•
•
•
Safe drinking water
Herbicides & ATRAZINE
Water quality standards & regulations
Health implications
• Study
• Description of problem & Research questions
• Methodology, Results & Conclusion
Objectives
• To describe occurrence in the environment &
sampling regime of atrazine in public water
supplies
• To assess Kentucky water systems compliance
with the EPA regulation, identify the health
implications & public health role
• To determine if the current monitoring regime is
adequate in detecting atrazine levels of concern
with focus on the critical time of exposure to
atrazine
Safe drinking water
• 19.5 million persons fall ill annually from water
borne illnesses - EPA, 2009
• Globally, unsafe drinking water is the second
leading cause of ill-health - W.H.O.,2010
• Most water pollutants come from agricultural
waste (largest source of water pollution in the
United States) - Duhigg, 2009
The Herbicide ATRAZINE
HERBICIDES
(weed control chemicals)
SELECTIVE
Broad leafed
weed
NONSELECTIVE
Any plant
Broadleaf weed
Courtesy: urbanext.illinois.edu
How does it work?
HERBICIDE
Preemergence
Postemergence
Plant part
Entire plant
Atrazine ranked
the most
commonly used
pesticide in the
U.S. (Lariviere et al., 2009)
Color
>
<
White
No data
Light
blue
20.0
38.0
yellow
38.0
56.0
Orange
56.0
74.0
Dark
blue
74.0
92.0
ATRAZINE usage map (USGS, 2005)
Approximately 80 million pounds used annually in the U.S. (Sanders, 2010)
ATRAZINE contd.
• Introduced in 1958
• “Top-selling product for Syngenta (the largest
chemical corporation in the world) (Lariviere et al.,
2009)
• Belongs to the Triazine group of compounds
• Atrazine - most commonly detected herbicide in
drinking water (EPA, 2010)
Uses
• Agricultural
• regulating growth of food crops e.g. maize,
sugarcane
• Enhancing performance of other herbicides
• Non-agricultural
• for domestic use on lawns
• golf courses
• general grassy areas in the environment
Benefits of use
 Affordable
 Accessible
 Effective
 Increased food productivity
 Economic growth - reduced cost of crop production &
market value
Atrazine & the Environment
Retrieved from: http://www.eoearth.org/article/Atrazine_in_the_environment
Routes of exposure in humans
• Contact
• Inhalation
• Per os via drinking water ( most likely route in
humans)
Population at risk
• Farmers
• Applicators
• Pregnant women & Children
Health effects in humans
• Risk of cancer
• Birth defects (Erickson, 2010)
• Premature births & low birth weight (Villanueva, 2005)
• Endocrine disruptor (hormonal imbalance) - feminization of
males (Hayes, et al., 2010; Enoch, et al. 2007)
• Irritation, respiratory discomfort, CNS disorders & death
Regulations
• Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide
Act (FIFRA, 1996)
• Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA, 1996)
• Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
Set standards
• Standards for H20 are set by the EPA Office of Water
• MCL ground water = 70 ppb
• MCL drinking water < 3ppb or 0.03mg/L
• EDWCs (Estimated Drinking Water Concentrations) =
118 ppb for surface water & 15 ppb for groundwater
• DWLOCs (Drinking Water Level of Concern) is > 432
ppb for acute exposures and > 47 ppb for chronic
exposures.
Problem Description
• Kentucky is one of the states with highest Atrazine
usage with peak use during the growing season
(March – September)
• EPA requires only quarterly monitoring for
detectable levels which may or may not include the
growing season
EPA’S required monitoring regime
MONTH
J
SAMPLING
X
F
M
A
X
M
J
J
X
A
S
O
X
N
D
Research question
What is the probability that drinking
water is sampled for atrazine during the
growing season?
Other questions to meet
study objectives
• What is the typical concentration profile for atrazine?
• What months show peak occurrences for atrazine?
• Is the EPA’s current water monitoring regime for
atrazine sufficient in assuring the public of safe
drinking water?
• Are Kentucky water systems in compliance with EPA
water monitoring requirements for atrazine?
METHODOLOGY
Study area
– Based on location of
highest pesticide use
(Kentucky’s Corn
Belt)
– Control county
selected based on
findings from EPA’s
Atrazine Monitoring
Program
Retrieved from: cohp.org
Population served by water
systems under study
COUNTY/ WATER SYSTEM
POPULATION SERVED
Christian
80,938
Logan
27,174
Todd
12,253
Trigg
13,290
Webster
13,706
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 Population Estimates
Methodology Contd.
•
Atrazine monitoring data source
• EPA( http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/atrazine/atrazine_update.htm#post-red)
• Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (http://dep.gateway.ky.gov/DWW/ )
•
Method of sample collection – grab sampling & analyzed in state certified labs
•
Study period - 6years (January 2005-2010)
•
Study design – Comparative retrospective study
•
Dependent variable – Month of sampled collection
•
Independent variable – Atrazine concentration levels (ppb), Sampling frequency
•
Data analysis – descriptive analysis using SPSS & graphical analysis using Microsoft Excel
•
No human subject or experiment involved in this study
RESULTS
2005
2006
2007
Sampling period
2008
2009
December
October
August
June
April
January
December
October
August
June
April
January
December
October
August
June
April
January
December
October
August
June
April
January
December
October
August
June
April
January
Mean atrazine conc. (ppb)
Typical concentration profile for Atrazine
Webster county AMP 2005-2010
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Analysis – Conc. level & Month
sampled
Coefficientsa
Unstandardized Standardized
Coefficients
Coefficients
Model
1
(Constant)
MeanAtrazine
concentration
level (ppb)
P <= 0.05
B Std. Error
6.721
.587
-.510
.864
Beta
95.0% Confidence
Interval for B
Lower
Upper
Bound
Bound
t
Sig.
11.45
.000
5.547
7.895
9
-.077 -.590
.557
-2.239
1.220
When is sampling done in C, T, T & L
2005-2010 Water system monitoring data
14
12
8
6
4
2
CHRISTIAN
2009
2006
TODD
Year/months sampled based on county
TRIGG
2009
May
August
2008
October
2007
November
May
August
Febuary
April
August
January
2006
October
2010
Febuary
August
April
July
2009
October
2008
March
June
0
November
Sampling frequency
10
Probability Analysis
Month
Sampled
Month Label
Todd Month
sampled
January
1
1
0
0
1
2
9%
February
2
1
0
1
1
3
13%
March
3
0
1
0
0
1
4%
April
4
1
1
1
1
4
17%
May
5
0
0
1
0
1
4%
June
6
0
1
0
0
1
4%
July
7
0
1
0
0
1
4%
August
8
1
1
1
1
4
17%
September
9
1
0
0
0
1
4%
October
10
1
0
1
0
2
9%
November
11
1
0
1
0
2
9%
December
12
1
0
0
0
1
4%
23
100%
Christian
Trigg
Sum of total
sample
Logan-Todd
Probability
Result Summary
With the current monitoring regime, drinking
water systems are less likely to monitor
during months of peak exposure
Kentucky water systems are not in
compliance with the set water monitoring
standards set by the EPA
Study Limitation
Inadequate data to determine the
environmental exposure level of atrazine for
drinking water in select counties
Recommendations
• Future studies on risk of exposure can build
upon the results of this study
• In order to protect the public’s health, sampling
for drinking water contaminants should be
conducted based on a monitoring regime that
coincides with the occurrence of the
chemical in source waters
What can Public Health Do?
• Policy development & modification bases on studies
– if no changes are made = increased risk of associated morbidity &
economic instability as people get sick
• Health education
• Increase awareness on use of the ATRAZINE as recommended
on label
• Promote the use of non-chemical pesticide alternatives (e.g.
mulching and hand pulling of weed)
• Use of less hazardous and economical pest control systems
(e.g. integrated pest management system - IPM)
• Domestic filtration of water with granular activated charcoal
References
Brands, E. & Rajagopal, R. (2008). Economics of place-based monitoring under the safe drinking water
act, part III: performance evaluation of place-based monitoring strategies. Environmental Monitoring
and Assessment. Vol. 143, No. 1-3, p. 75-89, DOI: 10.1007/s10661-007-9959-9
Dozier, M., Baumann, P. A., Senseman, S., Gerik, T., Harman, W. (2008). Reducing atrazine runoff from
croplands. Agrilife Extension Texas A & M System. Retrieved from https://agrilifebookstore.org/
Erickson, B. E. (2010). EPA revisits atrazine. Chemical and Engineering News. Volume 88, Number 9. pp.
31 - 33 ISSN 0009-2347
Harman W. L., Wang E., and William J. R. (2004). Reducing Atrazine Losses: Water Quality Implications
of Alternative Runoff Control Practices. J. Environ. Qual. 33:7–12 .
http://www.water-research.net/atrazine.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/us/23water.html
www.epa.gov/safewater/pdfs/factsheets/soc/atrazine.pdf
http://www.nrdc.org/health/atrazine/
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp.asp?id=338&tid=59
Lariviere, B., Monosson, E., Draggan, S. and ATSDR, (2009). Atrazine in the environment. Encyclopedia
of Earth. Retrieved from: http://www.eoearth.org/article/Atrazine_in_the_environment on October 17,
2010
Lazorko-Connon, S. and Achari, G. (2009). Atrazine: Its occurrence and treatment in water. Environ.
Rev. 17: 199–214. doi:10.1139/A09-009. Published by NRC Research Press / Publié par les Presses
scientifiques du CNRC
McElroy, J.A., Gangnon, R. E., Newcomb, P. A., Kanarek, M. S., Anderson, H. A., Brook, J. V.,
Trentham-Dietz. A., and Remington, P. L., (2007). Risk of breast cancer for women living in rural
areas from adult exposure to atrazine from well water in Wisconsin. Journal of Exposure
Science and Environmental Epidemiology. 17, 207–214. doi:10.1038/sj.jes.7500511.
Pappas E. A., Huang, C. (2008). Predicting atrazine levels in water utility intake water for MCL
compliance. American Chemical Society vol. xxx, no. xx, xxxx /Environmental Science &
Technology. USDA-ARS, National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory, 275 South Russell St.,
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
Rohr, J. R., McCoy, K. A., (2010). A qualitative meta-analysis reveals consistent effects of atrazine
on freshwater fish and amphibians. Environmental Health Perspectives. Volume 118 number 1,
p. 20-32. doi:10.1289/ehp.0901164 available via http://dx.doi.org/
Rusiecki J. A, De Roos A.,Lee W. J., Dosemeci M., Lubin M. J., Hoppin J. A., Blair A., Alavanja M.,
(2004). Cancer incidence among pesticide applicators exposed to atrazine in the agricultural
health study. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 96, No. 18, p. 1375-1382
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Protecting Water Quality from Agricultural Runoff
United States Grain Council. Corn. Retrieved from: http://www.grains.org/corn
Villanueva, C. M., Durand, G., Coutte, M., Chevrier, C., Cordier, S., ( 2005). Atrazine in municipal
drinking water and risk of low birth weight, preterm delivery, and small-for-gestational-age
status. Occup Environ Med;62:400–405. doi: 10.1136/oem.2004.016469.
Wu , M., Quirindongo, m., sass, j., wetzler, a., (2009). Poisoning the well: How the EPA is ignoring
atrazine contamination in surface and drinking water in the central United States. Published by
the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Retrieved from:
http://www.nrdc.org/health/atrazine/
World Health Organization information on drinking water quality, (2010). Retrieved from:
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/en/
Thank YOU
Research supervised by: Dr. Ritchie Taylor
Special thanks to Dr. Emmanuel Iyiegbuniwe, Dr.
Christine Nagy & Hamidat Segunmaru
Department of Public Health,
Western Kentucky University