WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION RECOMMENDS LESS STRINGENT GUIDLINES FOR ATRAZINE IN DRINKING WATER

Originally published in Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News

The World Health Organization has increased its drinking water quality guideline for atrazine from 2 parts per billion to 100 ppb -- a far less stringent level than EPA's current drinking water standard of 3 ppb.

Atrazine proponents say the new guideline reaffirms the safety of atrazine, which EPA is currently re-evaluating. But a long time critic of the herbicide says WHO failed to take into account infants and young children's special vulnerability and higher exposure per body weight than adults.

The new 100 ppb guideline will be included in the 4th edition of WHO's Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, to be published in 2011. The purpose of the guidelines is to assist regulators and policymakers in the development of national standards.

"The WHO has no regulatory force at all, and the drinking water guidelines are merely recommendations," Jennifer Sass, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, tells Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News via e-mail. "They are often adopted by countries that do not have the resources to conduct their own assessments."

Sass says while both WHO and EPA rely on the same study to achieve their guideline and standard, respectively, EPA has attempted to address the vulnerability of infants and children, "albeit not to our satisfaction," by applying the 10X Food Quality Protection Act safety factor.

Furthermore, to arrive at its drinking water guideline, WHO assumes a 60kg adult drinking two liters of water a day, with 20% of total daily intake of atrazine coming from drinking water. But kids drink more water per body weight than adults, Sass says, noting EPA has a default water intake rate of one liter of water per day for a 10kg child.

However, others say EPA should take a page out of WHO's scientific playbook.

"Here in the U.S., activists, insisting that atrazine levels at or even below 3 parts per billion are dangerous, have led EPA and the American taxpayer on an expensive wild goose chase," says Triazine Network Chairman Jere White, referring to what he believes is a politically motivated atrazine re-evaluation. "The U.S. EPA should follow the lead of the World Health Organization and continue to rely on sound science to evaluate atrazine," White adds in an Oct. 5 statement.

James Lamb, director and principal scientist at consulting firm Exponent's Center for Toxicology and Mechanistic Biology, says EPA's current drinking water standard for atrazine appears to be too severe.

"These new findings from WHO suggest that the EPA should re-evaluate the current 3 parts per billion standard in order to bring it into line with the latest scientific data," he says in the statement.

WHERE WERE YOU ONE YEAR AGO?

                                                         photo taken October 6, 2010

ICMB Director Tim Seifert anticipates being done with his harvest on this coming Monday, October 11.  Last year, he remembers starting his harvest around October 10 or 12.  What a difference a year makes!

HOLY COW! THAT'S ALOT OF CORN!

USDA reported corn carry-out for 2009-10 was 1.707 billion bushels compared to 1.673 billion last year. In the September report, USDA estimated 1.386 billion carry-out, so this latest report added 321 million bushels to the current year’s (2010-11) total supply.

Carry-out is the term farmers use to describe the corn left at the end of the year - this is the corn that just sits around extra without any market.  And some people think farmers can't produce enough to feed and fuel the world! 

 



CONG HALVORSON, JOHNSON SUPPORT IL CORN EFFORTS

My kids, four and six, often ask me what I do.  My job isn't easy to describe to a four year old or a six year old or even the class of first graders I talked to the other day.  Put simply, all the staff at Illinois Corn are trying to help farmers, support farmers, and make it as easy as it possibly can be to do their jobs.

One of the ways we've been trying to do just that is to address the federal crop insurance program.

Have we fixed it yet?  Not at all, but we are working on it.  Will our current solution make a dent in the problems crop insurance presents to Illinois corn farmers?  Definitely.  In fact, experts predict that the current route we're taking to fix crop insurance will "fix" about 50% of the problems farmers have with the program.

As with any federal program, our fix for crop insurance is complicated.  If I were to put it in layman's terms, I'd tell you simply that Illinois Corn Growers Association is working on an endorsement that will take into account the exponential growth in corn yields over time.  Right now, farmers are typically underinsured because the current program assumes that yields stay the same over time.  The "fix" will help farmers who try to insure 80% of their expected yield actually insure nearly 80% of their expected yield.

But here's the take home message.  Because we're working with the federal government (USDA Risk Management Agency) on this possible new endorsement, its a long and complicated and involved procedure.  So the Illinois Corn Growers Association would like to express their sincere appreciation to the Illinois Congressional Delegation that sent a letter to the RMA Administrator this week in support of our proposal.

Thank you, Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson, for spear-heading a letter that was signed by Congressmen Hare, Foster, Bean, Costello, and Lipinski among other out of state Congressmen.  And thank you to Congressman Tim Johnson for heading up a letter signed by Congressmen Schock and Shimkus as well as other Congressmen from Iowa and Nebraska.

Illinois corn farmers appreciate your assistance and your support!

Lindsay Mitchell
ICGA/ICMB Project Coordinator

A QUICK VISIT TO THE WORLD DAIRY EXPO ...

The World Dairy Expo was held September 28 through October 2 in Madison, Wisconsin. As a dairy enthusiast myself, attending Expo is always a great treat. It is the meeting place for over 65,000 people from around the world for this five day event. It is much more than the famed dairy cattle shows and sales, but includes seminars, collegiate and 4-H judging contests and exhibits of all kinds. As a stop for many on the “tanbark trail,” the best cattle from the United States and Canada are exhibited at this amazing exposition. While some are exhibiting, thousands come to watch the show, view the modern equipment exhibits, learn about the latest in feed and nutrition, check out colleges, discover new advances in genetics, and to just mingle with members of the dairy and agriculture industry from around the globe.

A major attraction is the trade show. It includes over 750 exhibitors from within the United States and internationally as well. A trip through the whole trade show, exhibition hall, or coliseum is well over a full day’s event. Freebies and lots of information can be gained on a treck through the trade show buildings. One of these exhibits was the Illinois Livestock Development Group. The Illinois Corn Marketing Board works with this development group to bring cattle to Illinois. Illinois produces lots of corn, and livestock is the number one market for number two yellow corn. It is a win win situation, strong corn state and strong dairy state. There is a strong connection between the gold crop and the big black and whites...or any dairy cow for that matter.

In addition to the trade show and exhibition hall, one can enjoy a variety of exhibits outside and some delicious food as well. Dairy products are presented at their finest at such an event as this. Whether it is the traditional grilled cheese, a milkshake, or some awesome cheese curds, one will not be disappointed. If the cattle are more of interest, a trip through the numerous cattle barns or a venture through the sale tent will be sure to satisfy.

The World Dairy Expo was a great experience and did not disappoint. From watching the shows, to sitting next to many international guest and hearing their opinions of the shows, to enjoying my grilled cheese sandwiches and milk, to talking about future plans with exhibitors present, to purchasing a jacket, expo met my expectations. Though it is a little too late to watch the shows live online, all the results can be found on the website. www.worlddairyexpo.com. Also, the site includes a lot of information about this year’s expo besides show results. Whether you are a diary enthusiast or not, the World Dairy Expo is a great event to experience, so I would suggest that you work that into your plans for next fall!

Amy Schaufelberger
University of Illinois student and Illinois farm girl

AVENTINE HEADQUARTERS MOVING TO TEXAS

Sadly, last week brought about the news that the headquarters for Aventine Renewable Energy in Pekin, IL will be moving out of Illinois to Texas.  Aventine is a leading producer and marketer of ethanol and related by-products.

Early reports indicate that the move has been brought about simply because the top executives for the company reside in Dallas. 

Aventine has its roots in sugar beet processing in Pekin, extending more than 100 years to the 1890's. 

You can read more in the Chicago Tribune.

Dave Loos
ICGA/ICMB Ethanol Guru

View From Above