EPA Quiet on Weed-Killer in Drinking Water

Today was Corbin's first day of Second Grade. As I walked away from his classroom, I felt mixed emotions. Relief that he is back on a regular schedule and the juggle of work and summer entertainment over, but a bit of sadness too, at how fast time passes. There is something about having children that just makes the clock tick ever faster and it is bittersweet to watch one's child bravely face their fears, walking into a new classroom, with no old buddies there for comfort's sake. "Mommy," Corbin yelled frantically from his room this morning, as he got dressed. "I don't know where the bathroom is at my new campus." We found it together, and before I left, he gave me a sweet little peck on the cheek and said good-bye. I could tell he was nervous but he smiled and waved as I walked away.

We can't be with our kids to protect them from everything - nor do we want to - but this morning's headlines remind me of why we, as mothers, must do everything we can to use our voices to help create a healthy environment for them to grow. "EPA Fails to Inform Public About Weed Killer in Drinking Water," revealed the Huffington Post. Atrazine, one of the nation's most widely-used herbicides has been found to exceed federal safety limits in drinking water in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kansas, but water customers have not been told and the Environmental Protection Agency has not published the results. In 2004, the European Union banned atrazine because it was consistently showing up in drinking water and health officials, aware of ongoing studies, said they could not find sufficient evidence the chemical was safe. In 2011 the EPA will revisit its rules for atrazine; in the interim, we will hope that this Huffington Post video will increase pressure for them to at least be more transparent in their reporting.