(Newswire.net — September 7, 2015) — The EPA’s office of environmental health hazard assessment in California issued a ‘notice of intent’ to label Monsanto’s famous weed herbicide Roundup to have Glyphosate which can cause cancer.
Following the WHO cancer research division’s report of ingredients known to cause cancer, EPA decided to officially put a key ingredient of the popular Monsanto’s Roundup on a list of chemicals hazardous to human health.
Under a classification of Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, any chemicals that threaten human life require a business to provide a “clear and reasonable” warning label before exposing individuals to a chemical on the list.
After the Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) In March classified glyphosate as being “probably” carcinogenic to humans, Monsanto launched a campaign to dispute that claim. Being the key component of one of their best selling products since 1974, agrochemical giant dismissed accusations arguing that there is no proof Glyphosate is linked to a cancer.
Glyphosate, is a broad-spectrum herbicide used to kill weeds, especially annual broadleaf weeds and grasses known to compete with commercial crops.
In 2013, Monsanto received approval from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Glyphosate, claiming the product is health and environment safe, which was a part of Roundup’s advertising campaign.
An international group of scientists, however, released a study last week, conecting the long-term intake of Monsanto’s herbicide, even in very small doses, as being linked to kidney and liver damage.
The Center for Food Safety, found the heavy proliferation of Roundup is directly connected to a drastic 90-percent drop in the population of monarch butterflies in the US.
“More than 250 million pounds of glyphosate are used each year in the United States, and the science is clear that it’s a threat to public health and countless wildlife species,” said Dr. Nathan Donley, a staff scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity.
“It’s long past time to start reining in the out-of-control use of glyphosate in the United States,” he added.
Beside Roundup, three more products, tetrachlorvinphos, parathion and malathion, were added to a list of Monsanto’s products linked with cancer.
Environmentalists greet EPA’s decision, adding that California took a bold first step in confronting the pharmaceutical giant, by labeling their products.