HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

129

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013

H.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

S.D. 1

 

 

 

 


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH TO DEVELOP PARTNERSHIPS TO ADDRESS THE DATA GAP ON AIR, SURFACE WATER, AND NEAR SHORE EFFECTS OF ATRAZINE.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, more than 60,000,000 pounds of atrazine, a weed-killing pesticide, is used annually in the United States; and

 

     WHEREAS, the toxicity of atrazine is well documented and has been shown to have adverse endocrine effects in amphibians, mammals, and humans; and

 

     WHEREAS, there is evidence that atrazine exposure is associated with low sperm counts and poor motility in exposed adult men, and that pre-birth atrazine exposure is associated with low birth weight and abnormal development of the gut wall in infants; and

 

     WHEREAS, in laboratory mammals, exposure to atrazine is associated with abnormal reproductive system development, impaired prostate gland formation, and abnormal breast tissue development; and

 

     WHEREAS, in aquatic life, exposure to atrazine is associated with abnormal reproductive system development, impaired reproduction, and impaired immune system function; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledges that atrazine may have potential adverse effects on fish, including organ tissue disease, disruption to the endocrine and olfactory systems, and reduced reproductive function; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency Atrazine Monitoring Program, high levels of atrazine are also evident in drinking water systems and more than 90 percent of the samples taken in 139 water systems had measurable levels of atrazine in both 2003 and 2004; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 1991, Germany and Italy banned the use of atrazine; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2003, European regulators announced a ban on the pesticide throughout the European Union; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Department of Agriculture estimates that a ban on atrazine would result in crop losses of only 1.19 percent and decrease corn acreage by only 2.3 percent; and

 

     WHEREAS, since banning atrazine nearly 20 years ago, Italy and Germany have not experienced a reduction of corn productivity or total acreage of land in production; and

 

WHEREAS, atrazine has been used for decades as an herbicide application in the growing of sugarcane, pineapple, and more recently, seed corn; and

 

WHEREAS, rainfall sweeps atrazine into rivers and streams, threatening plant and aquatic life and contaminating Hawaii's drinking water; and

 

WHEREAS, tests run by the Department of Health repeatedly show that drinking water in the State, and mostly in the County of Hawaii, is contaminated with measurable levels of atrazine; and

 

WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the State to be at the forefront of a monitoring and regulatory effort to protect Hawaii residents from the potential adverse effects of chronic atrazine exposure; now, therefore,

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the Senate concurring, that the Director of Health is requested to develop partnerships to address the data gap on air, surface water, and nearshore effects of atrazine; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Health is requested to report to the Legislature progress, findings, and recommendations, including any proposed legislation arising from its partnership activities, no later than October 31, 2013; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

Report Title: 

Atrazine Task Force