Monsanto’s Roundup, one of the world’s most widely used herbicides, is linked to health risks, including cancers, Parkinson’s disease, and respiratory issues.
Roundup had been in use for decades in commercial farming, home gardens, and landscaping applications. The weed killer is crucial in the production of genetically engineered corn and soybeans, the New York Times reports.
Roundup’s main ingredient—glyphosate—has been associated with serious health issues such as respiratory distress, impaired consciousness, pulmonary edema, arrhythmias, and renal failure, according to a 2004 study published in Toxicology Review. Exposure to the toxic effects of Roundup has been seen in agricultural workers, nursery workers, landscape workers, and people who work at farm stands.
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” according to the Times. IARC’s determination was based on studies of glyphosate exposure in the United States, Canada, and Sweden since 2001. The report said that glyphosate had been found in food, water, and air following Roundup spraying. The IARC recommended that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) examine the dangers of glyphosate, but the EPA says it does not have the resources to do the testing.
The EPA reports about that 185 million pounds of glyphosate were used by farmers in the U.S. in 2007, which is double the amount used only six years earlier. And as weeds have developed greater resistance to Roundup, farmers have used more of the herbicide to counteract the resistance.
Glyphosate has been linked to:
- Leukemia: multiple myeloma, myeloma
- Lymphoma: non-Hodgkin’s, Hodgkin’s
- Parkinson’s disease.
People exposed to glyphosate may also suffer other significant heath problems:
- blurred vision with excessive tearing
- coma
- confusion
- dizziness
- fatigue
- hand tremors
- headaches
- insomnia
- loss of appetite associated with nausea, stomach cramps, diarrhea
- loss of coordination
- weakness
- weight loss
In 2011, Parkinsonism Related Disorders published a report of a case of a 44-year-old woman diagnosed with Parkinson’s symptoms after three years of glyphosate exposure in a chemical factory job. In 2014 Rodale Wellness reported a large increase in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cases in the last 30 years, and that year the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published a review 44 scientific papers showing the effects of 80 active ingredients in 21 chemical classes on farm workers. According to IARC, exposure to glyphosate doubled the risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
France banned Roundup in 2015 after glyphosate was classified as a probable carcinogen. Ecology minister Segolene Royal declared that “France must be on the offensive with regards to the banning of pesticides,” according to The Independent.
In May 2015, residents of a town in the Argentine province Entre Rios demanded an investigation into the town’s high cancer death rates. Nearly half the deaths in the town in recent years were caused by cancer, though the national average for cancer deaths is 18 percent. Residents point to the heavy use of weed killers on rice and soybean fields. Entre Ríos has increased production of rice and soybeans, with a corresponding increase in the use of pesticides and herbicides. The chemicals sprayed on fields are dangerous both to the workers doing the spraying and to nearby residents, who are exposed to drifting spray. There are also reports that discarded pesticide canisters have contaminated ground water in some neighborhoods, leading to residents’ glyphosate exposure.
from Parker Waichman http://www.yourlawyer.com/blog/widely-used-herbicide-roundup-linked-to-leukemia-lymphoma-and-parkinsons/
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