The EPA says its scientific advisory committee will meet later this year after it finds additional epidemiologists to serve on the panel during its review of glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world. The panel was scheduled to meet this week to assess the carcinogenic potential, if any, of the herbicide.
In a notice posted on a government site, the EPA said it postponed the meeting “due to recent changes in the availability of experts for the peer review panel. Given the importance of epidemiology in the review of glyphosate’s carcinogenic potential, the agency believes that additional expertise in epidemiology will benefit the panel and allow for a more robust review of the data. As a result, the SAP (science advisory panel) meeting on glyphosate is being postponed to later in 2016.”
The EPA is assessing glyphosate as part of a review, required by law every 15 years for pesticides. Work began in 2009 and the agency said last month that it expects finish in 2017, rather than this year. An issue paper prepared by EPA for the panel of experts proposed a conclusion that glyphosate is “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans” but the agency said it wanted the committee’s evaluation and interpretation of the evidence.
Glyphosate was approved for use in the United States in 1974 and has been regarded as safe. A UN agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer rated the herbicide as “probably carcinogenic to humans” in March 2015. The IARC finding ignited global debate about the safety of the chemical, the main ingredient in Roundup, made by Monsanto.
In July, the EPA said it anticipated a panel of eight experts for the glyphosate review. At that point, when EPA solicited nominations, the panel had six members.