Presence of Agricultural Herbicide Atrazine in Water, Foods, and Human Urine Samples

Atrazine is a commonly used water-soluble agricultural herbicide in the United States. In this study, we measured the atrazine levels in water, beverages, foods, and urine samples obtained from young students at an urban university. The effects of physiological and behavioral factors were examined. Our results show that water samples obtained from Lake Erie and tap water both contained very low level of atrazine. Beverages and foods had various levels of atrazine contamination. Atrazine was also detected in the urine samples and mid-term physical activity appeared to be a factor to reduce the atrazine level in these subjects.