California EPA becomes first U.S. agency to declare that glyphosate causes cancer

The state of California has finalized its decision designating glyphosate, the main ingredient in the pesticide Roundup, as a known human carcinogen under the state’s Proposition 65. The listing was prompted by the World Health Organization’s finding that glyphosate is a “probable” human carcinogen. 

 

Proposition 65 refers to California’s 1986 Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, which requires the state to publish a list of chemicals that may cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm. In turn, warnings must be posted on products, in workplaces, apartment buildings, public places, or anywhere these toxins are present. Prop 65 increases accountability for businesses and allows Californians to make informed decisions about their health and safety.

 

Glyphosate is the most widely used pesticide in the United States and the world. It is also the most widely used pesticide in California, as measured by area of treated land. An analysis found that more than half of the glyphosate sprayed in California is applied in the state’s eight most-impoverished counties. 
 

Earlier this month a report released by a key scientific advisory panel concluded that the pesticides office at the Environmental Protection Agency failed to follow its own guidelines when it found last year that glyphosate — the active ingredient in Monsanto’s flagship pesticide Roundup — is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.