EPA: Glyphosate Is Not Carcinogenic

The EPA announced Thursday it has wrapped up its regulatory review of glyphosate and found that the most widely use weed killed in the U.S. is not carcinogenic.  The announcement comes despite U.S. juries determining the weed killer is responsible for cancer in some trials.

"EPA has concluded that there are no risks of concern to human health when glyphosate is used according to the label and that it is not a carcinogen," the EPA said in a statement.

The EPA judgement could help bolster the case for Bayer as it faces thousands more lawsuits from Roundup users who allege it caused their cancer.  Glyphosate is used on some crops, as well as lawns, golf courses and a variety of other locations.  In 2015, the World Health Organization's cancer arm classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans."

Bayer said January 24th it reached an agreement with plaintiffs' lawyers to postpone a Missouri jury trial over allegations Roundup causes cancer to provide time for negotiations to settle the litigation.  Three consecutive juries previously found Bayer liable for causing cancer with damages of tens of millions of dollars awarded to each plaintiff. The company is appealing those verdicts.

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