Campus Review Vol 29. Issue 7 July 2019 | Page 20

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. 18 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.