Traces of atrazine, a popular weedkiller, have been detected in 94 percent of water supplies studied by the USDA, making it a more common contaminate than any other pesticide. And for an estimated 7.6 million Americans, atrazine contaminates tap water supplies in amounts that potentially threaten human health. Now, new research has shown that atrazine is causing an uptick in birth defects.
Dr. Paul Winchester, medical director of the Neonatal and Intensive Care Unit at St. Francis Hospital in Indianapolis, recently led a study investigating why there is a higher incidence of birth defects in Indiana, compared to other states. And what Winchester found was that high concentrations of atrazine in the public water supply are to blame.
Atrazine linked to birth defects
The study, which was funded by the Gerber Foundation, was published by the journal PLOS One in 2017. As Eco Watch reports, Dr. Winchester launched his investigation into atrazine and birth defects after he noticed a markedly higher number of birth defects when he relocated from Denver, CO to Indiana. “I was used to the number of birth defects I should see in a community hospital, and I saw many more in Indiana,” he reportedly commented.
Past research has linked atrazine to an array of problems, including cancer and fertility issues.