There they go again!

In August the Environmental Working Group was scheduled to release "Tough

to Swallow", another report on the condition of drinking water in the

Midwest. As in the past, the new report will focus on the triazine

herbicides - atrazine, cyanazine, simazine - questioning the adequacy of

federal safety standards for drinking water.

EWG's prior reports - notably, Tap Water Blues (October, 1994) and Weed

Killers By The Glass (August, 1995) - were not authored by scientists nor

were they peer-reviewed by reputable, independent third-party scientists or

scientific organizations. EWG health scare reports are meant to reap

sensational headlines and generate grassroots fear so the group can further

its political agenda in Washington.

Brief Summary of the Executive Summary

"Tough to Swallow: How Pesticide Companies Profit From Poisoning America's

Tap Water"

* The report alleges that "widespread, long term herbicide contamination of

Midwestern tap water" and that the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act "closed

a gaping loop-hole in Federal pesticide laws" by requiring that pesticide

food tolerance take into account "for the first time" exposures via

drinking water.

* The report alleges that "commonly used weed killers contaminate tap water

of 374 Midwestern towns: 144 in Ohio; 97 in Illinois; 59 in Missouri; and

74 in nine other states." Thus, the report charges, "over ten million

Americansare exposed to cancer causing weed killers in their tap water."

* The report's executive summary specifically names atrazine, simazine,

alachlor and acetachlor; however, addition herbicide are treated in the

full report.

* EWG recommends; (1) an immediate ban of all triazine herbicides; (2) an

announced EPA policy to phase out all pesticides that contaminate tap water

supplies; (3) adoption by the framing community of a goal of controlling

weeds without contamination drinking water; (4) EPA must "scrupulously"

implement the Food Quality Protection Act, "with explicit consideration of

the higher exposureand vulnerability of infants."

Tap Water Blues

The EWG has released prior report on pesticides in drinking water that have

been roundly criticized for their lack of scientific peer-review and

validation. Some examples of comments from the October 1994 report Tap

Water Blues:

*The Ohio EPA said the state's drinking water is safethat the EWG report

included 1981-82 date. The Columbus Water Quality Assurance Lab said the

city's water has never exceeded an MCL (Maximum Contaminate Level) for the

five herbicides, and none were detected this summer.

* Kansas Departments of Health and Environment and Agriculture "down-played

the seriousness of EWG's report", saying Kansas water meets EPA standards.

* Springfield, Illinois was cited by EWG as one of Illinois' worst with a

cancer risk of 48.5 in one million. When Springfield's City Water, Light &

Power said it was in compliance with EPA, and EWG spokesman apologized for

the outdated information. Officials at Springfield's City Water, Light &

Power specifically blasted the group for implying Springfield water was

among the most dangerous in the nation when it has continued to meet

increasingly stringent federal guidelines.

A special tanks to Dave Lane of the American Farm Bureau Federation office

in Washington for providing NATA with the heads-up and research material.

(Source - NATA Newsletter)