Is it time to reassess current safety standards for glyphosate-based herbicides?
Use of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) increased ∼100-fold from 1974 to 2014. Additional increases are expected due to widespread emergence of glyphosate-resistant weeds, increased application of GBHs, and preharvest uses of GBHs as desiccants. Current safety assessments rely heavily on studies conducted over 30 years ago. We have considered information on GBH use, exposures, mechanisms of action, toxicity and epidemiology. Human exposures to glyphosate are rising, and a number of in vitro and in vivo studies challenge the basis for the current safety assessment of glyphosate and GBHs. We conclude that current safety standards for GBHs are outdated and may fail to protect public health or the environment. To improve safety standards, the following are urgently needed: (1) human biomonitoring for glyphosate and its metabolites; (2) prioritisation of glyphosate and GBHs for hazard assessments, including toxicological studies that use state-of-the-art approaches; (3) epidemiological studies, especially of occupationally exposed agricultural workers, pregnant women and their children and (4) evaluations of GBHs in commercially used formulations, recognising that herbicide mixtures likely have effects that are not predicted by studying glyphosate alone.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
Laura N
0000-0002-6807-9136
LN
Vandenberg
Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.
Bruce
B
Blumberg
Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.
Michael N
MN
Antoniou
University of Newcastle, Newcastle, UK.|Benbrook Consulting Services, Enterprise, Oregon, USA.
Charles M
CM
Benbrook
TEDX, The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Paonia, Colorado, USA.
Lynn
L
Carroll
TEDX, The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Paonia, Colorado, USA.
Theo
T
Colborn
L. Everett & Associates, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
Lorne G
LG
Everett
Consumers Union, Yonkers, New York, USA.
Michael
M
Hansen
Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
Philip J
PJ
Landrigan
Child & Family Research Institute, BC Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Bruce P
BP
Lanphear
Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.
Robin
R
Mesnage
Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Frederick S
FS
Vom Saal
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Wade V
WV
Welshons
Environmental Health Sciences, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.|Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
John Peterson
JP
Myers
D002273:Carcinogens / Q000633:toxicity*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D005998:Glycine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity; D006540:Herbicides / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000592:standards; D000097797:Glyphosate
D002273:Carcinogens; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005998:Glycine; D006540:Herbicides; D000097797:Glyphosate
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH; HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT; POLICY; PUBLIC HEALTH; TOXICOLOGY