What is "atrazine"

n. (context organic compound English) A triazine herbicide that inhibits photosynthesis

n. a synthetic compound derived from triazine that is widely used as an agricultural herbicide; "atrazine is thought to cause cancer and is banned in some European countries"

'''Atrazine '''is an herbicide of the triazine class. Atrazine is used to prevent pre- and postemergence broadleaf weeds in crops such as maize (corn) and sugarcane and on turf, such as golf courses and residential lawns. It is one of the most widely used herbicides in US and Australian agriculture. It was banned in the European Union in 2004, when the EU found groundwater levels exceeding the limits set by regulators, and Syngenta could neither show that this could be prevented nor that these levels were safe.

As of 2001, atrazine was the most commonly detected pesticide contaminating drinking water in the United States. Studies suggest it is an endocrine disruptor, an agent that can alter the natural hormonal system. In 2006 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had stated that under the Food Quality Protection Act "the risks associated with the pesticide residues pose a reasonable certainty of no harm", and in 2007, the EPA said that atrazine does not adversely affect amphibian sexual development and that no additional testing was warranted. EPA´s 2009 review concluded that "the agency’s scientific bases for its regulation of atrazine are robust and ensure prevention of exposure levels that could lead to reproductive effects in humans." EPA started a registration review in 2013.

The EPA's review has been criticized, and the safety of atrazine remains controversial.