A weedkilling chemical related to cancer has been found in more than 80 per cent of urine samples collected from kids and adults in a US health research study. As per the research division of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), out of 2,310 samples collected 1,885 had detectable amounts of glyphosate in them. The scientists have labelled the result as ‘disturbing’ and ‘concerning’. Researchers have been detecting the significant concentrations of herbicide glyphosate in human urines samples for years. However, the CDC recently began investigating the extent of the glyphosate exposure in people in US, raising concerns about the effects of pesticides in food and water on humans, The Guardian reported.
Researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine revealed that since Monsanto developed genetically modified crops intended to be sprayed directly with Roundup in the 1990s, the quantity and incidence of glyphosate has been identified and gradually rising in human urine.
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US farmers apply more than 200 million pounds of glyphosate every year. In order to dry out the crops before harvest, the weedkiller chemical is sprayed directly over developed genetically crops and non-developed ones including maize, soyabeans and wheat. Many farmers, especially the ones who cultivate spinach and almond use it on the fields before the growing season. This is probably the most frequent herbicide ever used.
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Many common foods, including baby food produced from cops are sprayed with glyphosate residues. Children’s diets are the main way they are exposed to the chemical. However, as per Monsanto and Bayer, the firm that acquired in 2018, glyphosate and Roundup products are safe and residues in food and human urine and do not posses any health issues. They disagree with numerous scientists and the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer which identifies the chemical as a potential carcinogen since 2015.
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On the other hand, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified the chemical as not likely to be carcinogen. But a federal appeals court ruled against the agency last month, nullifying the safety assessment and directing it to further review the evidence of chemical’s dangers.
Cynthia Curl, assistant professor of community and environmental health at Boise State University, said it is ‘concerning’ that a sizable portion of the population in US is exposed to glyphosate but its unclear how it actually affects people’s health.
(With inputs from agencies)
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