BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Tests of pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina have found no link between use of the devices and increased cancer risk.
Jennifer Rusiecki and Michael Alavanja of the National Cancer Institute studied nearly 54,000 pesticide applicators from the two states. Their research, summarized in the latest edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found no clear associations between atrazine exposure and any cancer analyzed.
However, they suggest further studies are warranted for several cancers (lung, bladder, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma) for which there was a suggestion of a trend.
In the United States, more than 76 million pounds of the herbicide atrazine are used annually, applied primarily to corn and soybean crops. The pesticide has been detected in surface water surveys in the Midwest and in national surveys of drinking water wells.
Animal and human studies have suggested atrazine may be carcinogenic, but the evidence has been mixed.
