The US EPA has announced a 60-day public comment period for their current draft glyphosate human health and ecological risk assessments. In essence, the EPA continues to find that glyphosate is not a carcinogen and that it presents no risks to public health when glyphosate is used in accordance with its current labeling. See Draft Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessments for Glyphosate.
Based on the 2017 assessment, in which EPA identified only ecological risks, it is now proposing management measures to help farmers more effectively and efficiently use pesticide sprays on targeted pests to protect pollinators and reduce the further development of glyphosate resistant weeds.
Glyphosate herbicides are widely used in US agriculture, as well as non-agricultural uses such as residential landscaping, rights-of-ways, golf courses and turf in general.
If you have some thoughts regarding this latest assessment, go to regulations.gov and send your comments regarding glyphosate’s registration review docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0361. Comments are due July 5, 2019. Comments and the EPA’s responses to the draft ecological and human health risk assessments and the benefits assessment will also be available in the docket.
See also the 2017 National Institute of Health Agricultural Health Survey. The EPA says its scientific findings are consistent with the conclusions of this report and also with science reviews by a number of other countries.
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