Glyphosate, a controversial weed-killer that has been linked to cancer, has been found in 80% of urine samples studied for a recent government report.
The CDC survey examined samples collected between 2013-2014, and found glyphosate in 1,885 of 2,310 urine samples. A third of the samples came from children aged six to 18.
“Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the country, yet until now we had very little data on exposure,” said Environmental Working Group toxicologist Alexis Temkin in a statement. “Children in the U.S. are regularly exposed to this cancer-causing weed-killer through the food they eat virtually every day.”
Glyphosate is the main active ingredient in Roundup, which German pharmaceutical brand Bayer has owned since 2018.
In June, the Supreme Court rejected Bayer’s bid to shut down the thousands of lawsuits against them over glyphosate’s alleged link to cancer.
In 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency found no serious health risk for cancer from glyphosate, but a federal appeals court recently ordered them to reexamine their findings. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer categorizes glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
Bayer has been able to win four trials in state courts against people who claim to have been harmed by Roundup. The company has said that it will replace glyphosate as the active ingredient in Roundup starting in 2023.
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