industry & research
campusreview.com.au
Nothing to fear?
Photo: Scott Olson
Professor says evidence
shows chemical used in
Roundup is not carcinogenic.
Ivan Kennedy interviewed by Wade Zaglas
I
n early July, a Sydney council made the decision to trial an
alternative to Roundup after 500 Sydney workers walked off
the job over concerns the glyphosate-based weedkiller was
carcinogenic. Meanwhile, two Australian law firms – including
Maurice Blackburn – are investigating the potential for a class
lawsuit against the product’s manufacturer, Bayer. Landscape
gardener Michael Ogliarolo, 54, is the first Australian to launch
action against the behemoth herbicide company.
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It will be a nail-biting time for Bayer (which acquired the
original manufacturer of Roundup, Monsanto, in 2018), given
the three costly verdicts handed down in the US over the past 12
months. In May, for example, American couple Alva and Alberta
Pilliod were awarded US$1 billion ($1.4 billion) each in damages,
with a jury finding the couple’s use of Roundup was linked to
their development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
While the lawsuits in the US have battered Bayer, many in the
scientific community are far less convinced. Some believe the
World Health Organization’s decision to label glyphosate as
a possible carcinogen to humans was reckless and based on
inconclusive evidence.
Organisations such as the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary
Medicines Authority and the US Environmental Protection
Agency also disagree with WHO’s classification, with both
stating that glyphosate is safe when used according to the
instructions on the label.