Herbicide Makes Males Pregnant?

OK - male frogs, but its not good for people either. This is a picture of Darnell the frog. Genetically, Darnell is male. But after being raised in water contaminated with the herbicide atrazine—slightly less than what's allowed in our drinking water—he developed a female body, inside and out. Darnell is a grandmother!

motherjones.com / Via motherjones.com

Commonly used herbicide, atrazine, can cause malformed reproductive organs, and changes in gender, in frogs exposed to water with amounts of herbicide 30 times less than what the EPA allows in our drinking water. In 2009, a New York Times investigation found that 33 million Americans are exposed to atrazine through drinking water. EPA data from 2010 shows contamination exceeding the federal limit in 9 out of 10 states monitoring it. The EPA has claimed these spikes are not a health hazard. Yet epidemiological studies have found links between prenatal atrazine exposure and birth defects, premature birth, and low birth weight—even at extremely low concentrations. Since 1980, scientists had been reporting shrinking amphibian populations—close to one-third of known species are now in danger of extinction. Check out more at Mother Jones.