EPA Considers Ban on Pesticide that Can Turn Male Frogs Into Females

The Environmental Protection Agency is considering a ban on a chemical that California scientists say is capable of turning one in 10 male frogs into females.

Atrazine, used primarily on corn and sugar cane crops, is the most commonly detected pesticide in American groundwater.

Kerry Kriger, founder and executive director of Save The Frogs, says more than 500,000 pounds of the chemical return to the earth each year in rain and snow after it's caught in the airstream during spraying.

"It's in our rainwater, stream water, tap water. It's sprayed on our foods, so yes, we want a complete ban on it. There's an abundant amount of scientific literature showing its harmful effects on a variety of wildlife and humans."

The European Union banned Atrazine in 2004, but U.S. authorities say the chemical is safe for consumers and allows 3 parts per billion in drinking water.

A University of California-Berkeley study concluded that Atrazine is a likely contributor to worldwide amphibian declines.

Kriger says the chemical has been linked to reproductive defects in fish and cancer in laboratory rodents, and wreaks havoc on frog populations.

"It causes immunosuppression, hermaphroditism and even complete sex reversal of male frogs at concentrations as low as 2.5 parts per billion, which is below the legal limit."

The California-based Save The Frogs group and other activists gathered at the steps of the EPA's headquarters in Washington earlier this year to raise awareness of the disappearance of amphibians and to call for a federal ban on Atrazine.

As a result of the recent studies, the EPA is reviewing its regulations of the pesticide. Its public comment period closes Monday.