Due to Run Off From

¶ … due to run off from crops, the groundwater used for drinking can become contaminated with the various herbicides used on the crops. In the human system, studies have shown these herbicides to be the cause of alterations to cell- immune functions and decreases to disease resistance. Because of this danger, the Environmental Protection Agency has implemented maximum levels of containment on herbicides. To deal with these regulations, herbicide users reduce the amount of atrazine applied to crops by mixing isoxaflutole with the atrazine. Isoxaflutole is a herbicide without any studies conducted as to its safety.

The inquiry used in this project is to test the effect of herbicides that mix atrazine and isoxaflutole. The hypothesis is that when the two herbicides are applied as a mixture, atrazine and isoxaflutole will alter the immune system in ways that differ when they are applied individually. Specifically, it is predicted that the mixture will directly effect and alter Interleukin-2 secretion by Jurkats.

The inquiry began by stimulating Jurkat cells in the presence of 5-200 doeses of atrazine and isoxaflutole and a 1:1 mixture of both. After twenty-four hours, the supernatants were harvested and the Interleukin-2 levels analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The inquiry further measured intracellular interleukin-2 levels by flow cytometry.

The results showed that isoxaflutole alone does not inhibit the production of Interleukn-2 to the same extent that atrazine does. On the other hand, a similar sized dose of atrazine by itself does inhibit Interleukn-2 production by over sixty-five percent, whereas low doses of atrazine had no effect. The mixture of the two herbicides had demonstrated the same inhibiting effect on Interleukn-2 production as the high level of atrazine alone did.

Based on this evidence, the inquiry concludes that using isoxaflutole with atrazine effects Interleukn-2 production in a similar to more significant manner than using atrazine alone does. It should be noted that the inquiry did receive support from the National Center for Research Resources.

This inquiry directly challenges the prevailing belief in the field of herbicidal studies and their effect on humans. As evidenced by the Environmental Protection Agency's issuance of limitations on the amount of atrazine use, it is generally accepted that herbicides such as atrazine have a negative effect on the human cell and immune functions. However, it seems that this acknowledgement is limited to only certain herbicides, creating the general belief that these negative effects can be limited by simply blending various forms of herbicides. Thus, instead of actually studying the effect of such blended herbicides, popular belief was that because the mixture contained less atrazine, it had to be safer than using pure atrazine.

The inquiry used in this study challenged this belief in showing that it was not the amount of atrazine alone that caused the harmful effects to human health systems but the actual use of atrazine in and of itself, regardless of the amount or level used. This was proved by the evidence that showed that mixtures of the two herbicides had the same, if not more, negative effects as did the studies using only atrazine. Further, the controlled study of just isoxaflutale demonstrated that it was not the addition of this herbicide that caused the effect because, by itself, isoxaflutale had little to no effect on the production. Thus, the overall effect of the inquiry was to challenge the common belief on the effect of atrazine being associated with the levels used.

The inquiry cited above makes use of the functions of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Analysis is the act of reviewing and comparing data. In the inquiry of the herbicides, the analysis occurs with the review of prior evaluations and inquires. This analysis of studies regarding the effect of atrazine allowed the inquiry to come up with its hypothesis and thus direct the actual experiment. Without an analysis of the original, existing data the concept of comparing use of atrazine, isoxaflutale and a mix of both would not have been thought of.

The concept of synthesis refers to the integration of two or more existing elements in order to create something new. In the inquiry, there are numerous levels of synthesis. First and foremost is the agricultural practice of combining atrazine with isoxaflutale as a method of creating a new, supposedly less toxic herbicide that would comply with the regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. At another level is the synthesis of information. For example, the test results provided several, individual results. On one hand the mixed test showed that by mixing the two herbicides together did not make the product less harmful to humans. On the other hand the test with only the isoxaflutale demonstrated that, by itself, this particular herbicide had no negative consequences as to the human cell production and immune system. The conclusion drawn from this, that the level of atrazine used had no effect as to the harmful consequences to humans, was made by synthesizing the two individual results to come up with the new conclusion as to the effect of atrazine.