{"id":19068,"date":"2016-09-21T00:00:04","date_gmt":"2016-09-21T04:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=19068"},"modified":"2016-09-21T13:32:13","modified_gmt":"2016-09-21T17:32:13","slug":"epa-keeps-health-risk-proposing-glyphosate-not-cause-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/09\/epa-keeps-health-risk-proposing-glyphosate-not-cause-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"EPA Proposes that Glyphosate (Roundup) Does Not Cause Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, September 21, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs released last week \u00a0its Glyphosate Issue Paper in which the agency is proposing to classify glyphosate as \u201cnot likely to be carcinogenic to humans at doses relevant for human health risk assessment.\u201d Glyphosate, the controversial active ingredient in Roundup, was classified in 2015 by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a \u201cprobable carcinogen\u201d and numerous studies have associated the chemical with cancer and other human health issues. However, EPA\u2019s proposed a classification that is contrary, not only to WHO\u2019s, but also a position \u00a0it had previously held. The issue paper was released in preparation for the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) meeting, October 18-21, which convenes to review EPA\u2019s evaluation of the carcinogenic potential of glyphosate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"sdaf\"Glyphosate, produced by Monsanto, is one of the most popular weedkillers in the U.S., and the active ingredient in Roundup. Glyphosate is often promoted by industry as a \u201clow toxicity\u201d chemical and \u201csafer\u201d than other chemicals, yet has been shown to have \u00a0detrimental impacts<\/a> \u00a0on humans and the environment. Given its widespread use on residential and agricultural sites, its toxicity is of increasing concern.<\/p>\n

The carcinogenic potential of glyphosate has been reviewed and disagreed on many times. EPA, in 1985, originally classified glyphosate as a chemical \u201d\u02dcpossibly carcinogenic to humans,\u2019 based on tumors in laboratory animals, \u00a0but changed its classification to evidence of non-carcinogenicity in humans years later, allowing the chemical to grow to \u00a0the most widely used pesticide in the U.S. \u00a0But now, according to EPA’s document, in September 2015, the agency reviewed relevant glyphosate data, including studies submitted by the registrant and studies published in the open literature. This evaluation resulted in a classification of glyphosate as \u201cNot Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans.\u201d \u00a0However, many of these industry studies are not publicly available, and their findings may not have been peer-reviewed.<\/p>\n

To clarify, EPA\u2019s hierarchical \u00a0categories of carcinogens<\/a>, \u00a0recognized by the 2005 \u00a0Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment<\/a> \u00a0are:<\/p>\n