Atrazine found to cause chromosomal breaks

摘要

Hamster cells exposed for 48 h to the herbicide atrazine at EPA's maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water of 3 ppb have been found to develop chromosomal breaks. Similar breaks in human chromosomes have been linked to certain cancers and birth defects. These results are the first to tie short-term exposures of low-level atrazine to chromosomal damage, according to the study's lead researcher, A. Lane Rayburn of the University of Illinois Agronomy Department. Thus, said Rayburn, the study may more closely mimic human exposure than do studies in which rats are fed high dosages to test for tumors.