‘Roundup’ pesticide cancer link on trial

SAN FRANCISCO: During more than a century of business, US agrochemical colossus Monsanto has been vilified for products critics say harm people and the environment.

In the first trial of its kind, a Californian dying of cancer is suing Monsanto, claiming its popular herbicide Roundup caused his disease – a case that could have sweeping ramifications. A jury on Monday is scheduled to begin hearing pitches from opposing sides, with witnesses to follow.

The stakes are high for Monsanto, which could face massive losses should a jury order it to pay out damages over the product, whose main ingredient is glyphosate, a substance some say is dangerously carcinogenic.

Dewayne Johnson, a 46-yearold father of two, says he is sick because of contact with Roundup, which he used for two years from 2012 as a groundskeeper for the Benicia school district near San Francisco, his lawyer Timothy Litzenburg told AFP.

“A major part of that job was spraying Roundup or Ranger Pro (a similar Monsanto product) ... He sprayed it 20 to 40 times per year, sometimes hundreds of gallons at a time on the school properties,” Litzenburg said.

In 2014, Johnson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that affects white blood cells. No longer able to work two years later, he filed suit against Monsanto, accusing the company of hiding the dangers of its product.

A key to Johnson’s case will be convincing jurors that Monsanto’s pesticide is to blame for his illness. — AFP