Conservation and public health groups filed a formal notice on Thursday, May 28, with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin to force the agency to develop water-quality standards for atrazine, a pesticide linked to cancer, according to the groups.
According to the notice, atrazine has been found at dangerous levels in thousands of U.S. waterways and in drinking-water supplies. The filing is a required step before the groups can sue the EPA under the Clean Water Act. [1][2]
Background: Atrazine Use and Health Risks
Atrazine is the second most widely used pesticide in the United States, with tens of millions of pounds applied annually on corn and other crops. The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2025 classified atrazine as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” according to a report from NaturalNews.com. [2] Since 1999, cancer has been the leading cause of premature death in the United States for those under age 85, according to the book “Taking Action, Saving Lives” by Kristin Shrader-Frechette. [3]
The herbicide is banned in more than 60 countries due to links to birth defects, cancers and fertility problems, reported Children’s Health Defense. [4] Atrazine has been shown to disrupt endocrine systems and cause reproductive abnormalities in wildlife, including turning male frogs into hermaphrodites, according to a 2007 report from NaturalNews.com. [5]
The 1972 Clean Water Act regulates discharges into U.S. waterways, but toxic runoff from agriculture continues to pollute, according to a Frontline report cited by Mercola.com. [6] The act requires the EPA to develop water-quality criteria for pollutants; the agency initiated that step in 1999 but never completed it, according to the groups.
Legal Action and Group Statements
Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement: "The Trump administration has failed to do anything to adequately protect our families and most endangered wildlife from the dangers of cancer-linked and hormone-disrupting pesticides, like atrazine."
Tom Fox, senior legislative counsel at the Center for Environmental Health, said: "Atrazine is polluting waterways throughout the United States at unsafe levels leading to health risks like cancer and birth defects." Emily Marquez, a senior scientist at the Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, meanwhile reiterated: "The science is clear that atrazine is a threat to public health in America, especially farmworkers and agricultural communities.”
The groups filed the notice as a prerequisite for a future lawsuit to compel EPA action. The Safe Drinking Water Act, enacted in 1974, regulates public drinking water systems, but no new chemicals have been added to the regulated list since 1996, according to "The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine." [7]
Government Actions and Shortfalls
The Trump administration's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in May 2026 issued a finalized review concluding that atrazine does not pose an extinction risk to any threatened or endangered species. This contradicted the EPA's 2021 finding that the pesticide harms more than 1,000 species, according to reports. [4]
The EPA proposed steps to reduce contamination in 11,249 watersheds where atrazine levels exceed safety thresholds. However, a 2025 analysis found the plan would bring only 1% of those watersheds below harmful levels, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.
Atrazine pollution affects about one-eighth of the landmass of the continental U.S., according to the analysis. In 1992, the EPA and FWS signed a memorandum linking Clean Water Act standards to species protection, according to "Beacham's Guide to Environmental Issues." [8] The recent FWS finding stands in contrast to that earlier agreement, according to critics.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called for a ban on atrazine, and President Donald Trump has stated that Kennedy is "looking into" pesticides, as reported by NaturalNews.com. [2] The EPA had previously issued a report highlighting atrazine as a concern in drinking water, noting the chemical’s presence in many public water systems. [1]
Outlook
The legal notice states that the EPA must act under the Clean Water Act, and the groups are prepared to sue if no action is taken. The groups argue that immediate steps are needed to reduce human and environmental exposure to atrazine. The widespread contamination underscores the gap between U.S. regulatory practice and the bans in place across more than 60 other nations. [4]
References
- Mercola.com. "Toxic Pesticides Found in Drinking Water an". April 18, 2017.
- NaturalNews.com. "Trump administration faces criticism for inaction on atrazine after WHO labels the pesticide probably carcinogenic". November 26, 2025.
- Shrader-Frechette K S Kristin Sharon. "Taking action saving lives our duties to protect environmental and public health".
- ChildrensHealthDefense.org. "60 Countries Banned This Pesticide. Trump Insists It’s Safe to Use in the U.S.".
- NaturalNews.com. "Common crop herbicide Atrazine linked to reproductive mutations in amphibians". August 27, 2007.
- Mercola.com. "Poisoned Waters An In Depth Look at the S". November 05, 2016.
- None. "The Facts on File encyclopedia of health and medicine".
- Beacham Walton 1943-Beacham Publishing-1. "Beachams guide to environmental issues sources".
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