EPA Sued Over Roundup Reauthorization

EPA Sued Over Roundup Reauthorization

Introduction

Two environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claiming that it failed to protect U.S. health and environment by approving the active ingredient of Roundup, glyphosate.

On March 20, a petition was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, asking the court to review and abate EPA’s decision made on January 22, to approve the use of glyphosate in the U.S.

The two environmental groups, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Pesticide Action Network North America, claimed that EPA ignored evidence by scientists and medical experts about the impact of glyphosate on human health and the environment to pacify corporate interests.

In 2015, glyphosate was claimed as a cancer-causing agent by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The IARC indicated the links in the side effects of Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides with an increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

However, in April 2019, the EPA issued a proposed interim registration review decision, stating they do not believe glyphosate can cause cancer, which was finalized in January 2020.

Roundup herbicide was once considered the best gift for agricultural fields. It ruled the market right from the mid-70s until 2013 when some shocking hidden facts were unveiled about this product. 

In March 2013 an email sent by a senior toxicologist from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to her colleague mentioned the carcinogenic attributes of Roundup herbicide, which were not disclosed to the public due to Monsanto’s strong control over EPA. 

Roundup, one of the most commonly and widely used weed killers, contains Glyphosate as one of its main ingredients. Glyphosate is a systemic and broad-spectrum herbicide that was patented by a U.S. company, Monsanto, in 1970. Bayer acquired Monsanto on June 7, 2018.

After the patent for Monsanto expired in the U.S. in 2000 and outside the U.S. in 1991, many other manufacturers started marketing their glyphosate products leading to a substantial increase in sales and global usage. The chemical name of glyphosate is N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine, and it blocks an enzyme in the plant, which helps in preparing amino acids and proteins, thus, killing the plants within a few days.

Initially, the users used Roundup as a non-selective herbicide just like paraquat and diquat. People attempted to use glyphosate-based herbicides to row crops, but crop damage problems restricted its use. In 1996 commercial introduction of a glyphosate-resistant soybean resulted in increased use of Roundup throughout the United States. Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" became the best-selling product of the company following the advertisement and the sales increased by around 20% per year between 1990 and 1996.

In 1996, the introduction of a glyphosate-resistant soybean resulted in the growing use of Roundup throughout the United States. Sales of Roundup increased around 20% per year between 1990 and 1996. The product was used in over 160 countries by 2015. It was mostly used on corn, soy, and cotton crops that are genetically designed to resist the chemical. But as of 2012, crops like almond, peach, cantaloupe, onion, cherry, sweet corn, and citrus have been treated by the glyphosate in approximately 5 million acres of California.

Roundup comprising of active ingredient glyphosate may cause eye or skin irritation. People who breathed in spray mist from products containing glyphosate usually experience irritation in their nose and throat. Swallowing products with glyphosate can cause increased saliva, burns in the mouth and throat, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Fatalities have been reported in cases of intentional ingestion.

Even pets may be at risk if they touch or eat plants that are still wet with spray from products containing glyphosate. Animals exposed to products with glyphosate may drool, vomit, have diarrhea, lose their appetite, or seem sleepy.

Bayer and its Monsanto subsidiary have continued to defend the safety of glyphosate. They have faced massive verdicts in several early trials that have gone forward in the United States, over failure to warn about the risks associated with Roundup exposure. In addition to this, the Roundup manufacturers also got awarded with massive punitive damage designed to punish for withholding safety information from consumers and government regulators.

Currently, Bayer and subsidiary Monsanto are facing tens of thousands of Roundup lawsuits filed nationwide, each claiming that the weedkiller causes non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or other cancers.