In 2015, The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a World Health Organization (WHO) agency dedicated to cancer research, issued a report on glyphosate. The IARC report concluded that glyphosate is a “probable human carcinogen”. The report found that the cancers most associated with glyphosate exposure were found to be non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other hematopoietic cancers.

Since the IARC report in 2015, several countries have either issued outright bans on glyphosate, imposed restrictions or have issued statements of intention to ban or restrict glyphosate-based herbicides, including Roundup. These countries include, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Although the United States Federal Government has not issued any bans or restrictions on glyphosate-based herbicides, several cities and counties have issued bans, restrictions or warnings relating to glyphosate-based herbicides. These cities include 21 cities in California; Boulder, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; Austin, Texas; Charlottesville, Virginia; North Miami, Florida; and most recently Miami Beach, Florida.

The dangers of glyphosate-based herbicides gained national attention when a jury in San Francisco awarded Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, a groundskeeper from the Benicia Unified School District with terminal cancer, a verdict against Monsanto Company in the amount of $39.2 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages for failing to warn consumers that exposure to Roundup weed killer causes cancer.

Given the mounting evidence about the dangerous effects of exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides, I would recommend that the Council issue a resolution calling for a ban or restriction of glyphosate-based herbicides in public parks, lakes and other Town property. We need to ensure that the children and residents of our Town are not exposed to these types of chemicals.


*Source: More information can be found at https://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/toxic-tort-law/monsanto-roundup-lawsuit/where-is-glyphosate-banned/

Fiscal Impact: TBD