GLYPHOSATE TOXIC EFFECTS

Below is a copy of an article supplied to me by the soil foodweb showing the latest developments with Roundup.

GLYPHOSATE TOXIC EFFECTS

Rethinking Roundup

August 5, 2005 publication of Environmental Health Perspectives.

A recent study of Roundup presents new evidence that the glyphosate based herbicide is far more toxic than the active ingredient alone. The study, published in the
June 2005 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, reports glyphosate toxicity to human placental cells within hours of exposure, at levels ten times lower than those found in agricultural use.

The researchers also tested glyphosate and Roundup at lower concentrations for effects on sexual hormones, reporting effects at very low levels. This suggests that dilution with other ingredients in Roundup may, in fact, facilitate glyphosate’s hormonal impacts.

The evidence presented in the recent study is supported by earlier laboratory studies connecting glyphosate with reproductive harm, including damaged DNA in mice and abnormal chromosomes in human blood.

Evidence from epidemiological studies has also linked exposure to the herbicide with increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and laboratory studies have now begun to hone in on the mechanism by which the chemical acts on cell division to cause cancer.

A Canadian study has linked glyphosate exposure in the three months before conception with increased risk for miscarriage and a 2002 study in Minnesota
connected glyphosate exposure in farm families with increased incidence of attention deficit disorder.

Studies have also documented glyphosate’s toxicity to wildlife and especially to amphibians.

Recently, studies conducted in small ponds with a variety of aquatic populations have presented evidence that levels of glyphosate currently applied can be highly lethal to many species of amphibians.