A quick and easy test for determining human exposure to atrazine,a widely used agricultural herbicide, has been developed by toxicologists at UC Davis. The researchers rely on immunoassays -- tests that use disease-detecting molecules called antibodies to identify the presence of certain chemical compounds. The antibodies are designed to bind with atrazine and a series of metabolic products that the scientists have identified in the urine of people who have been exposed to the herbicide. "Identification of human exposure to agrochemicals is an important concern," says Anne D. Lucas, a doctoral candidate in pharmacology and toxicology who is working with UC Davis professors James N. Seiber, Bruce D. Hammock and A.D. Jones. "The method we developed could be used as a urinary biomarker in humans who work with, or may have been inadvertently exposed to, this chemical," Lucas says. She presented the findings at the recent Fourth Annual Chemical Congress in New York City.