November, 13 2018, 11:00pm EDT
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Hormone-Disrupting Weed Killer Taints Tap Water for Millions in Corn Belt
Atrazine Spikes Up to 7x EPA Limit, but Utilities Dodge Testing to Stay Legal
WASHINGTON
Seasonal spikes of atrazine - a weed killer that can disrupt hormones and harm developing fetuses - contaminate drinking water in corn-growing areas of the Midwest and beyond, according to an analysis of federal records by the Environmental Working Group.
Environmental Protection Agency data show that in some Corn Belt communities, atrazine levels can spike three to seven times above the legal limit in late spring and early summer. But by avoiding water testing during peak periods, some water utilities stay in compliance with drinking water regulations - and don't have to tell customers they were exposed to a hazardous chemical in their tap water.
"Our investigation found that nearly 30 million Americans have atrazine in their tap water," said Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., EWG senior science advisor for children's environmental health. "But many may never know, because outdated federal policies allow utilities to test for atrazine before or after the spike."
EWG's investigation is the most comprehensive analysis to date of national data on the pervasive contamination of drinking water by this chemical. EWG found that last year, utilities in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio had atrazine spikes much higher than the federal legal limit of three parts per billion, or ppb. The two highest spikes were reported in Evansville, Ill., at 22 ppb, and Piqua, Ohio, at 16 ppb.
But the Safe Drinking Water Act, last updated in 1996, only requires the reporting of annual averages of testing for the chemical. That means the utilities don't have to tell the EPA or their customers they exceeded the legal limit for multiple days or weeks during the growing season.
Atrazine is the second-most heavily used herbicide in the U.S., with more than 70 million pounds sprayed in 2016. It is used mostly to control weeds in cornfields, but it is also applied to sorghum, sugarcane and other crops.
Studies show that atrazine and similar chemicals harm the reproductive system and disrupt the nerve and hormone systems, affecting the brain, behavior and hormones such as estrogen, testosterone and dopamine. Even short-term exposure to elevated levels of atrazine can pose health risks to expectant mothers and their babies, including an increase in the risk of preterm delivery and lower birth weight.
The European Union banned atrazine in 2003 because of its potential to contaminate drinking water sources. In 2016, California state scientists listed atrazine, simazine and related chemicals as substances "known to cause reproductive toxicity." According to EWG's Tap Water Database, which aggregates testing data from utilities nationwide, in 2015, atrazine was found in water systems serving nearly 30 million Americans in 27 states.
The EPA is currently reviewing its atrazine standard of 3 ppb. For adequate protection of developing fetuses, EWG advocates that the atrazine limit in drinking water be set at 0.1 ppb, 30 times lower than the current standard. EWG's recommendation is based on the most current epidemiological data.
EWG's analysis of atrazine in drinking water comes at a time when water utilities across the U.S. are facing increasing scrutiny due to the discovery of widespread contamination from highly toxic chemicals, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and pollutants from agricultural runoff, such as nitrate.
"The EPA must do more to protect Americans with policies that should reflect the latest independent science," said EWG's Naidenko. "Federal and state agencies and water utilities must ensure that tap water served across America does not have toxic chemicals such as atrazine."
Atrazine and similar herbicides can be removed from tap water by carbon filters, including inexpensive countertop pitchers and faucet-mount filters. EPA's data also show that these chemicals are devastating for wildlife and plants, which can't filter their water.
EWG submitted comments to the EPA today urging the agency to consider epidemiological studies when assessing the risk to human health posed by atrazine and related pesticides and to establish policies and regulations to reduce atrazine spikes in drinking water.
The Environmental Working Group is a community 30 million strong, working to protect our environmental health by changing industry standards.
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Hostage Families in Tel Aviv: 'Starting Tomorrow, the Country Will Tremble'
'Starting tomorrow, the country will tremble. We call on the public to prepare. The country will grind to a halt. The abandonment is over.'
Aug 31, 2024
Tens of thousands rallied across Israel on Saturday night, demanding a hostage deal and against the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In Tel Aviv, tens of thousands of demonstrators, including relatives of those held hostage in Gaza, gathered at the Hostages Square for a rally demanding their loved ones’ return and pled with the prime minister and negotiating team to reach an agreement before time runs out. Roving groups of right-wing activists cursed and spat on the demonstrators.
Along with the mass demonstration in Tel Aviv, large protests were held in cities nationwide, drawing thousands of demonstrators.
Later Saturday night, the Israeli Defense Force announced it had located several bodies in the Gaza Strip, which might be the remains of Israeli hostages. “At this stage, the forces are still operating in the area and carrying out a process to extract and identify the bodies, which will last several hours,” the military says.
After the IDF says it has found bodies in Gaza that possibly are of hostages, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum issued a statement calling on the public to prepare to hold sweeping protests tomorrow.
“Netanyahu abandoned the hostages. It is now a fact. Starting tomorrow, the country will tremble. We call on the public to prepare. The country will grind to a halt. The abandonment is over.”
The Forum says it will provide further details tomorrow morning.
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Trump Says He Plans to Vote 'No' on Florida Abortion Rights Measure
"He will vote to uphold an abortion ban so extreme it applies before many women even know they are pregnant," said Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. "The choice in this election is clear."
Aug 30, 2024
After deflecting reporters' questions earlier this month, former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, finally confirmed on Friday that he plans to vote against a Florida ballot measure that would end the state's strict abortion ban.
Amendment 4 would would outlaw pre-viability abortion bans in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' six-week ban is currently in effect, forcing many patients to travel long distances to receive care in other states.
The Trump War Room account on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, shared a video of Trump's new comments to Fox News and falsely claimed the proposed amendment would legalize abortions through the ninth month of pregnancy, echoing the GOP candidate's lies in the interview.
"You need more time than six weeks. I've disagreed with that right from the early primaries. When I heard about it, I disagreed with it," Trump told Fox News. "At the same time, the Democrats are radical because the nine months is just a ridiculous situation."
"You can do an abortion in the ninth month, and you know, some of the states, like Minnesota and other states, have it where you can actually execute the baby after birth, and all of that stuff is unacceptable," he added. "So I'll be voting no for that reason."
In response, Democratic strategist and consultant Sawyer Hackett said: "There it is. Trump supports states passing total abortion bans. No question he will sign a national abortion ban if it's put on his desk."
Laws like Florida's are effectively total bans on abortion because the window in which patients can receive care often passes before they even know they are pregnant. GOP efforts to enact such state policies have ramped up since the U.S. Supreme Court's right-wing supermajority—which includes three Trump appointees—reversedRoe v. Wade in 2022.
Trump's confirmation of how he plans to vote on Amendment 4 and dishonesty about abortion laws in Democrat-controlled states came a day after he told an NBC News reporter that "it has to be more time" than six weeks but refused to answer whether he would be voting "yes" or "no" on his state's ballot measure—and then bragged about his role in reversing Roe.
"Really cannot trust anything Trump says, but gotta love it when anti-abortion politicians (including Trump who created the pathway for Roe to be overturned!!) is now all squirmy when it comes to Florida's near-total abortion ban," Florida state Rep. Anna V. Eskamani (D-42) said about his remarks to NBC, urging Floridians to vote yes on Amendment 4.
Amendment 4 has been championed by Floridians Protecting Freedom, a coalition that includes the ACLU of Florida, Florida Rising, Women's Voices of Southwest Florida, Florida Women's Freedom Coalition, SEIU 1199 Florida, and Planned Parenthood organizations in the state.
Trump was previously asked about the ballot measure during an August 8 press conference from Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Palm Beach. At the time, he told reporters he would hold an event to reveal his position at a later date and claimed that abortion "seems to be much less of an issue."
The Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have worked to make reproductive freedom a key issue in this contest, and their campaign swiftly responded to Trump's Friday remarks.
"Donald Trump just made his position on abortion very clear: He will vote to uphold an abortion ban so extreme it applies before many women even know they are pregnant," Harris said. "Trump proudly brags about the role that he played in overturning Roe v. Wade and said there should be punishment for women who have an abortion. So, of course he thinks it's a 'beautiful thing' that women in Florida and across the country are being turned away from emergency rooms, face life-threatening situations, and are forced to travel hundreds of miles for the care they need."
"And, understand: He is not done," she warned. "As a part of Donald Trump's Project 2025 agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, threaten access to fertility treatments, and ban abortion nationwide, with or without Congress."
Harris stressed that "I trust women to make their own healthcare decisions and believe the government should never come between a woman and her doctor. When I'm president and Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, I will proudly sign it into law. The choice in this election is clear."
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Brazilian Judge Orders Total Suspension of Elon Musk's X Social Network
"Elon Musk showed his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, for the judiciary," said Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Aug 30, 2024
Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Friday ordered the nationwide suspension of Elon Musk's X social media platform in response to the billionaire's failure to comply with the judge's directive to appoint a legal representative in the South American country.
Moraes ordered the "immediate, complete, and total suspension of X's operations" in the nation of 215 million people, "until the court's judicial decisions are complied with and the fines applied are paid" and "until a representative of the company in the country is appointed."
The judge also infuriated Musk by blocking his SpaceX company from conducting financial transactions in Brazil over millions of dollars in unpaid fines imposed on X—formerly known as Twitter—for breaking Brazilian laws.
"X Brazil failed to comply with several court orders, as well as the willful intention of evading responsibility for complying with the court orders issued."
Earlier this month, Musk withdrew X's staff from Brazil after Moraes threatened to arrest the company's legal representative if the platform did not delete user accounts spreading far-right misinformation and hate speech in violation of Brazilian law.
"Elon Musk showed his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, for the judiciary, setting himself up as a true supranational entity and immune to the laws of each country," Moraes said.
"The president of the National Telecommunications Agency, Carlos Manuel Baigorri, must take all measures to ensure the suspension," Moraes continued, adding that he "also ordered Apple and Google to take measures to block the use of the application by iOS and Android systems, in addition to removing it from their virtual stores."
Internet service providers and app stores have five days to comply with Moraes' ruling. People who use virtual public networks (VPNs) to skirt the new ban are subject to a roughly $8,900 fine.
Moraes stated that he "made every possible effort and granted every opportunity for X Brazil to comply with the judicial orders and pay the fines, which would have avoided the adoption of this more serious measure."
"Unfortunately," he added, "the illicit conduct was repeated in this investigation, making it clear that X Brazil failed to comply with several court orders, as well as the willful intention of evading responsibility for complying with the court orders issued."
In April, Moraes
launched a criminal investigation into Musk's alleged obstruction of justice and incitement to crime.
Friday's decision comes amid a monthslong feud between Musk—the world's wealthiest person—and Moraes. Musk has accused the judge of "censorship" and of being a "tyrant."
"Alexandre de Moraes is an evil dictator cosplaying as a judge," Musk
said Thursday on X in one of several increasingly sophomoric posts.
However, as Brazil-based journalist Brian Mier
explained, "this is about sovereignty."
"Treating a system where the rich can buy more reach than normal citizens as if it were a democratic commons, as a 'free speech' issue, is ludicrous," Mier wrote on X. "In the Global South, U.S. social media corporations are coup machines."
In the 1960s, the United States played an instrumental role in overthrowing a democratically elected Brazilian government and installing a 21-year military dictatorship in which a young Jair Bolsonaro—the former right-wing Brazilian leader who is the target of multiple criminal probes led by Moraes—served as an army officer.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva offered thoughts on Musk and the case ahead of Friday's ruling during a television interview.
"Who does he think he is?" asked Lula. "He has to respect the rules of this country."
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