September 21, 2019 - Roundup weed killer, an herbicide used extensively in farm and agricultural applications, as well as by home gardeners, on lawns, and in forestry applications, contains glyphosate. Glyphosate is an ingredient which kills weeds and certain grasses by blocking an enzyme essential for plant growth. The role of the EPA is to set tolerance levels which are meant to provide a “reasonable certainty” of no harm to humans; the established glyphosate tolerances are from 0.1 to 310 parts per million, depending on the crop. After the EPA sets the acceptable levels of a substance like glyphosate, the FDA’s job is to ensure pesticide chemical residues on domestic and imported foods do not exceed those levels.
Despite the fact that the EPA has claimed glyphosate has a low toxicity for humans, this characterization has been widely disputed, and although the EPA claims glyphosate is “not likely to be carcinogenic in humans,” the International Agency for Research on Cancer contends glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic.” The FDA recently streamlined the glyphosate-testing process, now using a selective residue method which is more effective in measuring levels of the herbicide. In 2016, while 47 percent of the samples of corn and soybean samples showed detectable residues of glyphosate, according to the EPA, the levels were below the allowable amounts.
Emails, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, seem to show that the FDA has trouble finding a food which does not have detectable traces of glyphosate. FDA chemist, Richard Thompson, wrote to colleagues that the found a fair amount of glyphosate in all the wheat crackers, granola cereal, and cornmeal he brought from his own home. In fact, Thompson stated that he found only one food which was free of glyphosate traces—broccoli. Over-the-tolerance levels of glyphosate were found in corn—according to an FDA email, 6.5 parts per million, when the legal EPA limit is 5.0 parts per million. While this would normally have been reported to the EPA, the FDA supervisor wrote that the corn in question was not considered an “official” sample.
Glyphosate Dangers for Those Spraying the Chemical - As you might imagine, with glyphosate in foods becoming a concern, those who routinely spray Monsanto Roundup weed killer are likely getting much higher doses of the herbicide through the skin and breathing in the Roundup weed killer “drift.” Many scientists—who are not in the herbicide industry—feel there are no absolutely safe levels of glyphosate, and since it is impossible to use humans for experiments with glyphosate, it can be difficult to determine “safe” levels. Some studies have shown that sugar cane cutters exposed to glyphosate had higher-than-normal renal damage. Crop-dusting planes which dropped glyphosate in rural communities resulted in shortened pregnancies for the women living in the area. Scientists and politicians with documented ties to Monsanto often dismiss studies which document the potential dangers of glyphosate.
Is a Monsanto Roundup Lawsuit Right for You? An experienced Monsanto Roundup Cancer Lawyer can comprehensively evaluate the facts of your Roundup Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma or other type of glyphosate cancer. A well qualified Roundup Attorney will determine whether your Roundup cancer is the result of spraying Roundup weed killer, answering any questions you may have regarding a potential Monsanto Roundup lawsuit. A knowledgeable Roundup lawyer can help you get the medical treatment you need for your Roundup-related health issues.