EPA affirms stance on glyphosate, says herbicide unlikely to cause cancer

October 5th, 2016 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

There are a small number of different substances, chemicals and compounds that have drawn protracted attention from federal regulators due to a perceived potential to cause harm to employees and consumers. For the Environmental Protection Agency, glyphosate is one such chemical. A base ingredient of the popular pesticide Roundup, the substance has proven effective in its use as an herbicide across a number of different regions with significant variations in temperature and local flora.

However, concerns about the safety of glyphosate have persisted for some time. The chemical has long been cited as a potential cause of serious illnesses, including cancer, by some environmental groups. Concerns were additionally raised by a range of public and private environmental health and safety organizations from across the globe, although others believe the chemical is safe for use. Additional issues about potential damage to animals and local ecosystems have also been voiced.

EPA believes glyphosate is safe, at least preliminarily
The EPA spent years analyzing the chemical, studying its effects when applied, and recently announced it believes glyphosate is likely not carcinogenic and therefore safe to use as an herbicide in farming and other applications. Reuters reported that announcement isn't final, as it was described as a proposed position in a recent, 227-page report published by the federal environmental regulator. Despite the lack of total closure on the issue, it's a strong recommendation from the EPA. That report, along with a number of other documents and studies related to the use and effects of glyphosate, will be assessed in October by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel. That group will review the EPA report and additional data in an effort to come closer to a conclusion about the chemical.

NPR said the dispute over glyphosate is a wide-ranging one, with a number of different international authorities weighing in on the topic. The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, for example, called the herbicide a probable cancer risk in 2015, for example. On the other hand, the European Union's European Food Safety Agency specifically brought a group of experts together to investigate the issue, and their findings indicated the chemical is likely safe. Part of the United Nation's public health apparatus reached similar findings about glyphosate's safety.