LETTERS: DESPITE CLAIMS, ATRAZINE IS NO THREAT

To the editor:

Once again, the Environmental Working Group has produced another report. EWG's most recent public relations tale called "Into the Mouths of Babes" attacks the crop-protection product Atrazine and warns that many communities in the Midwest have dangerous levels of Atrazine in tap water. The report makes outrageous, inaccurate interpretations regarding public risks.

EWG states that Atrazine concentrations observed in drinking water pose an unacceptable cancer risk to infants. Independent researchers, however, conclude that Atrazine does not cause adverse effects on human health. The maximum contaminant level set by the Environmental Protection Agency for tap water incorporates a huge margin of safety. A child could drink 3,000 gallons of water per day every day for 70 years and still would not exceed the level of concern.

EWG is an organization that serves its own special interest by generating public fear. By its own account, its staff of "18 researchers, computer experts and writers produce hundreds of headline making reports each year." EWG is interested in headlines. EWG claims to be expert on hundreds of issues ranging from pesticides in the air of California to pedestrian fatalities. It's amazing how a staff of only 18 can be such experts in all these subjects.

EWG targeted Vice President Al Gore and asked Mr. Gore to pressure EPA to ban Atrazine through the Food Quality Protection Act. The truth is EWG once was a member of EPA's Pesticide Tolerance Reassessment Advisory Committee. This committee provides input to EPA regarding implementation of the FQPA. The EWG resigned from the TRAC when Mr. Gore stepped in and called for EPA to implement FQPA on the basis of sound science, a transparent regulatory process, and consultation with the public and federal government agencies. Mr. Gore should be applauded for insisting on these common-sense criteria for implementation.

Congress is currently considering legislation, the Regulatory Fairness and Openness Act of 1999 (House Resolution 1592), which would ensure full and fair implementation of FQPA. HR 1592 is good legislation with over 145 members of Congress sponsoring the bill. The EWG should be ashamed of its tactics, which are not far removed from fallaciously crying fire in a crowded theater.

In comparison, the Missouri Corn Growers Association supports sound science and policy development as means to protecting the environment. MCGA is partnering with EPA, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Novartis and the University of Missouri to implement a project called the Watershed Research, Assessment and Stewardship Project. The focus of this multimillion-dollar, multiyear project is drinking water lakes that have detections of Atrazine. We are working with farmers in their fields trying different farming practices to keep crop-protection products on the field. The goal of WRASP is to determine farming practices that are profitable to farmers and protect the environment.

Thousands of farmers in the Midwest are struggling to survive and keep the family farms, given the economic crisis that currently exists in America's heartland. Atrazine should remain a tool available to America's farmers in order for them to remain competitive and profitable. EWG's same old song is growing tiresome, and no one believes its science. I challenge the press to look closely at the scientific accuracy of these headline-generating reports. Instead of creating headlines, we need to help farmers implement voluntary changes in farming operations that improve water quality while maintaining profitability. That way everybody wins.

RON McNEAL, PresidentMissouri Corn Growers AssociationJefferson City