NALP offers background on Monsanto Roundup court case

A San Francisco jury ruled on Aug. 10 that Roundup weed killer, consisting of the active ingredient glyphosate, caused terminal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in a former school groundskeeper. The jury awarded the plaintiff $289 million in damages. Defendant, Bayer unit Monsanto, has signaled that they plan to appeal the decision and defend their product through the California state court appeals process.

The National Association of Landscape Professionals wants to educate the landscape workforce, customers and the general public on the safe use of lawn and landscape products. NALP says contractors may have or may receive questions from employees, customers and others on the recent jury decision and the safety of Roundup or glyphosate. The following facts can be used as a reference and information to provide employees, customers and others in regard to ongoing litigation:

• Glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide in the world and has been used safely for more than 40 years by agricultural and landscape professionals to control broadleaf weeds and grasses. It is used in products such as Roundup.

• Glyphosate is one of the most widely used and effective tools the landscape industry uses to protect green spaces and to control weeds and other invasive species that can lead to allergies, spread diseases and negatively impact landscapes.

• Researchers have conducted more than 800 scientific studies and reviews that validate glyphosate’s safety since it was introduced in the 1970s.

• In May 2018, a study published by the U.S. National Institutes of Health reaffirmed there is not a statistically significant association between glyphosate use and cancer.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is statutorily mandated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to conduct reviews of all approved pesticide and herbicide products. FIFRA provides federal regulation of pesticide distribution, sale and use. Any pesticide registered under FIFRA, including glyphosate, must show that using the product according to specifications will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment or to human health.

• In December 2017, after conducting an extensive review of glyphosate, the EPA released a draft risk assessment, which concluded that glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans, and found no other meaningful risks to human health when the product is used safely and properly, according to label instructions.

• The EPA’s recent re-evaluation of glyphosate was presented to the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP). The SAP provides independent scientific advice to the EPA on health and safety issues related to pesticides. The FIFRA SAP is comprised of biologists, statisticians, toxicologists and other experts. The independent SAP agreed with EPA’s risk assessments and conclusions that glyphosate is not likely carcinogenic.

• Roundup and many other products containing glyphosate are currently registered and approved by the EPA and all 50 states lead pesticide regulatory agencies and remain legal to use when used in a manner consistent with label instructions.

• During the evaluation of glyphosate, EPA worked closely with their Canadian counterpart Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) in concluding that glyphosate is unlikely to be carcinogenic or cause unreasonable risks to humans when used according to label instructions. Other regulatory authorities around the globe in Europe, Japan, Korea and Australia have also consistently reaffirmed that glyphosate is not carcinogenic.

• In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen. However, the IARC is not a regulatory agency and did not conduct independent studies before making this designation. Follow-up investigative reports of this designation found that IARC concealed important scientific data and edited conclusions from key studies of glyphosate.