Glyphosate is not a carcinogen said the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) on Wednesday 15 March when it published the opinion of its risk assessment committee (RAC).
The opinion on the classification of this total herbicide on the basis of its toxicity had been keenly awaited (see EUROPE 11742 and 11740). It is at odds with the opinion delivered by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) which took the view that it was probably carcinogenic for humans and has, for that reason, outraged Green MEPs and environmental and public health NGOs. The pesticides industry, on the other hand, is delighted.
In its opinion, ECHA says that it is appropriate to maintain the current classification of glyphosate as a substance causing serious eye damage and being toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects. It states that the available scientific evidence did not meet the criteria in the EU’s classification, labelling and packaging (CLP) regulation to classify glyphosate as a carcinogen, as a mutagen or as toxic for reproduction (CMR substance).
The opinion will help inform the Commission and member states when, before the end of this year, they come to a decision on whether or not to renew the glyphosate licence in the EU. In June 2016, the Commission granted an 18-month renewal of the licence, to run until the end of 2017 at the latest (see EUROPE 11583).
Serious concerns among ecologists and environmentalists. “With this opinion, ECHA has paved the way for unrestricted renewal of the authorisation for the coming years. European citizens do not want this pesticide”, stated MEP Martin Haüsling (Greens/EFA, Germany) who is a member of the European Parliament environment and agriculture committees.
For Greenpeace, Franziska Achterberg accuses ECHA of going “to great lengths to sweep all evidence that glyphosate can cause cancer under the carpet”, rejecting clear scientific evidence of cancers in laboratory animals, ignoring warnings by more than 90 independent scientists, and relying on unpublished studies commissioned by glyphosate producers.
For the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), the fact that the ECHA opinion contradicts that of IARC, “the world’s most authoritative cancer research agency”, is a source of “great concern”. It is “a setback for cancer prevention”, according to Génon K. Jensen, HEAL Executive Director.
The European Crop Protection Association (ECPA), on the other hand, has welcomed the opinion, taking the view that “science has prevailed”. The association’s spokesperson Graeme Taylor said he hoped the European Commission would now move swiftly to grant a 15-year renewal to the glyphosate licence in the EU. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)