Govt seeks Roundup review after US case
Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage says she will ask the Environmental Protection Agency to consider adding Roundup to a list of hazardous substances it is reassessing.
Her comments follow a landmark US Superior Court award of NZ$440 million to a terminally ill San Francisco groundsman who alleged that heavy contact with the herbicide caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The defendant, agricultural giant Monsanto, said it would appeal.
‘‘The Environmental Protection Agency has the technical expertise to make these decisions so it’s their responsibility rather than a political issue for Parliament,’’ Sage said.
‘‘There needs to be an application for the EPA to reconsider the approach to glyphosate – like there was for 1080.’’
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup vegetation spray.
Sage said she did not use chemical sprays on her garden, which was mainly managed by her partner Richard because of her political commitments.
‘‘We have an organic garden and there are other alternatives to spraying such as vinegar, salt or just hot water,’’ Sage said.
‘‘I will be asking the chief executive, Dr Allan Freeth, to consider adding Roundup to his reassessment list.’’
Dr Fiona Thomson-Carter, general manager of the EPA’s hazardous substances group, said she was aware of the US case, but was not familiar with the specific evidence.
‘‘There is no change to the science behind our current position, which is that products containing glyphosate remain safe to use when you follow the instructions on the products label,’’ Thomson-Carter said.
Several contaminants and industrial processes have been linked to nonHodgkin’s lymphoma but the US court’s jury decision is one of the first to come down firmly in favour of a complainant regarding glyphosate.
The issue generated heated debate in New Zealand last year, and in February 2018 the EPA’s chief scientist, Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, resigned after senior government officials expressed several concerns to the agency.
Rowarth had written an article discussing the economic benefit of the herbicide versus its risk, which was low in her assessment of the research. She also angered environmentalists by describing irrigation as a great benefit.
The EU recently voted to renew the licence for glyphosate for another five years after 18 months of acrimonious debate among member states.
Johnson, 46, used Roundup in his work for a San Francisco Bay Area school district, his lawyers said. He sprayed large quantities from a 190-litre tank attached to a truck, and during gusty winds, the product would cover his face.
Once, when a hose broke, the weedkiller soaked his entire body.
Johnson read the label and even contacted the company after developing a rash but was never warned it could cause cancer, said Brent Wisner, one of his lawyers.
Johnson was diagnosed with nonHodgkin’s lymphoma in 2014.