The Ban Atrazine Toxicants Act would immediately prohibit the use, production, sale, importation, and exportation of all pesticides containing atrazine, a herbicide currently used in roughly 80 million pounds annually across the United States. The bill targets atrazine because it persists in the environment for decades, is one of the most commonly detected pesticides in drinking water and groundwater nationwide, and has been linked to cancer risks, birth defects, and reproductive harm in humans, as well as significant harm to wildlife including threatened and endangered species. The bill notes that the European Union banned atrazine in 2003 and that countries like Germany and Italy banned it in 1991 without experiencing declines in corn yields. Upon enactment, all existing atrazine registrations would be canceled immediately, the EPA would have six months to revoke any food tolerances allowing atrazine residues, and the sale of existing atrazine stocks would be prohibited with no future registrations permitted. No specific funding is allocated in the bill, as it is primarily a regulatory prohibition rather than a spending measure.
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