Atrazine in Drinking Water: Exposure Assessment &Analysis

Atrazine, one of the most commonly used herbicides in the United States, has been found to contaminate groundwater. Atrazine is an endocrine disrupter in animals, and could possibly have carcinogenic effects in humans. A study involving farm families in four counties of Kentucky has been designed to assess exposure to atrazine through drinking water by a quick, reliable and effective assay that could be performed in non specialized laboratories. Farm families with more than 100 acres of cultivable land were recruited through random selection. The mean age of the participants was 54.7 years. Data were obtained on their farming practices and pesticide applications along with drinking water samples collected from each household. Water consumption for the participants showed that 69% of the households consumed municipal water only, 25% had private wells as their only source of drinking water and 7% used spring water exclusively. On average, the participants had consumed water from their sources for 18.6 years. Farming practices indicated that 69% grew hay to feed their livestock, whereas 28% produced corn and 10% soybeans. The analytical method used to detect atrazine in the water samples was based on Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay with the test having a Minimum Detection Limit of 0.046 ppb of atrazine, Limit of quantitation 0.1 ppb and half maximal inhibitory concentration of 0.72 ppb. The results were obtained using a magnetic-particle-based analysis with spectrophotometric reading and showed presence of atrazine in more than 90% of the samples.