Atrazine Backed by Decades of Safe Use, Scientific Review

October 11, 2009

For 50 years and through many administrations, sound science has governed US regulatory decisions on atrazine, a well-studied herbicide that farmers rely upon worldwide to produce safe, healthy and abundant crops.

GREENSBORO, NC, October 11, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Sound science has always governed regulation of atrazine.
• Atrazine is one of the best studied herbicides available today.
• Emerging studies offer no direct scientific link between atrazine and health effects.
• Atrazine helps farmers grow crops sustainably and be successful.

For 50 years and through many administrations, sound science has governed US regulatory decisions on atrazine, a well-studied herbicide that farmers rely upon worldwide to produce safe, healthy and abundant crops. The Environmental Protection Agency's recent announcement of its ongoing evaluation of atrazine is part of the normal regulatory process. Syngenta, as a science-based company, looks forward to a continuing, open and transparent safety review of atrazine in 2010 and expects a positive outcome.

Like EPA, Syngenta is always interested in examining new, emerging science. With its recent re-registration by EPA in 2006, atrazine science is fresh, current and definitive, with nearly 6,000 studies supporting its continued availability and safe use. The new, recently published epidemiology studies that will be reviewed by EPA in 2010, however, are questionable, as they provide no direct scientific connection between atrazine and health effects.

Syngenta stands firmly behind the safety of atrazine, which has been used safely by American farmers for five decades. Safety reviews around the world by the US EPA, World Health Organization, Canada, Australia and the UK have all come to the same science-based conclusion--atrazine, as labeled, can and has been used safely.

Forty percent of the world's food supply would not exist without crop protection products like atrazine, which helps farmers fight weeds that attack their corn, sorghum and sugar cane crops. EPA estimates that atrazine saves corn farmers $28 per acre in herbicide costs and yield advantages.

Atrazine is a critical tool in conservation tillage and no-till systems--farming methods that eliminate plowing and/or reduce tillage. Conservation tillage helps reduce soil erosion by as much as 90 percent when compared to intensive tillage. When soil erosion is prevented, so is the runoff into our waterways of sediment--identified by EPA as the top pollutant in US streams and rivers. In 2008, atrazine was applied to more than 60 percent of conservation tillage and no-till corn acres.

When using atrazine products, US farmers are turning more to conservation tillage and no-till systems. The last decade shows this is an upward trend, with 64 percent of the total atrazine-treated corn grown using conservation tillage or no-till methods last year.

Syngenta takes its commitment to safety and to the stewardship of all our products seriously--and atrazine is no exception. Our world-class scientists and researchers have gone above and beyond the extensive studies required to register this product and, we believe sound science will once again bear out its safety.

Please visit http://www.atrazine.com for more information.

Syngenta is one of the world's leading companies with more than 24,000 employees in over 90 countries dedicated to our purpose: Bringing plant potential to life. Through world-class science, global reach and commitment to our customers we help to increase crop productivity, protect the environment and improve health and quality of life. For more information about us please go to http://www.syngenta.com.

Related links:
Atrazine herbicide
Atrazine Safety and Science Facts
Atrazine in Drinking Water Facts
Syngenta
Syngenta Crop Protection

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About Syngenta:
Syngenta is one of the world's leading companies with more than 24,000 employees in over 90 countries dedicated to our purpose: Bringing plant potential to life. Through world-class science, global reach and commitment to our customers we help to increase crop productivity, protect the environment and improve health and quality of life. For more information about us please go to http://www.syngenta.com.

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