EPA chief Gina McCarthy told lawmakers that the agency played no major role in the decision by the WHO’s cancer agency to list glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, as probably carcinogenic to humans, said DTN. The House Science Committee has questioned the classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and whether the IARC is skewing EPA’s current review of the herbicide.
Asked during a Science Committee hearing when EPA would complete its review, McCarthy said, “We expect to have something on that possibly this fall,” according to Delta Farm Press. In late April, EPA posted on the Internet an advisory committee report that concluded there was no cancer link to glyphosate and removed it a few days later. McCarthy said the report was posted by accident and was withdrawn while the agency reviews it.
An EU appeals panel was to meet today to seek consensus on glyphosate use in Europe. The license for the weedkiller expires on June 30. Member nations have rejected proposals to extend EU approval even for a short term. France announced earlier this week that it will vote against continued use of the weedkiller. “If no decision is reached by qualified majority there, then the European Commission could choose to act on is own,” said Reuters, referring to the administrative arm of the EU.