Various environmental groups filed suit Friday in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Their suit challenges the EPA’s interim registration review decision, which approved the sale and use of the herbicides atrazine, propazine, and simazine.

These herbicides allegedly harm both the environment and human health. Atrazine, a widely-used herbicide used by farmers to control weeds, is an endocrine disrupter that can potentially the human hormone and reproductive systems.

The green groups accuse the EPA of failing to adhere to the findings of scientists and researchers. They are alleging that the EPA violated its duties under Section 16(b) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. § 136n(b), and Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, by approving the interim registrations reviews that were signed in September. The main argument is that the reviews lack any substantial evidence to support the approving of these pesticides.

As a result, the green groups are requesting the court to: (1) set aside the interim registrations; (2) grant relief as necessary to stop the use of this pesticide and (3) grant any other relief deemed appropriate by the court.