Is Weed Killer Making You Its Bitch?
by Jim Washburn
Does it seem lately like the planet is trying to shake the humans off its fur? Here's one more reason why: Scientists report that atrazine, a chemical devised by other scientists, can "chemically castrate" frogs and turn some into females. Biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, suspect the chemical--tens of millions pounds of which are used on corn and other crops in the US annually--may be behind the massive die-offs of amphibians in recent years.
Long-term exposure to atrazine, even diluted in water to levels of 2.5 parts per billion, were sufficient to emasculate 3/4 of the male frogs exposed to it by researchers, while a whopping one in ten turned into females. Frogs and other amphibian species are considered canaries in the coalmine for humans, being somewhat more sensitive than us to changes on our cages. And the things that screw them up frequently have similar implications for humans. Scientists do indeed suspect that atrazine might interfere with human reproductive health. But that's OK: it's only in 75 percent of our stream water and 40 percent of our groundwater.
Not to worry, says the Swiss company Syngenta, the world's major producer of atrazine, which disputes the findings, According to the company's website, "Residues of atrazine and all our crop protection products in water do not pose a health risk for consumers." Especially consumers where they are, of course, because atrazine has been banned in Europe since 2004. So if US men turn into women, at least the French can come fuck us.
Why not read more about it on a website where they don't say fuck?
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