New Zeland Activists claims | POEA GLYPOHOSATE Poisoning Us | Cites Seralini Studies

Tauranga City councillors are on notice to remove Roundup from the list of approved city sprays, because of new research that proves it is much more poisonous than previously thought.

TCC are thinking of removing Roundup from the approved city sprays because of new research.

Naturopath and spray sensitive Robin Grierson told councillors the study shows the world’s most popular herbicide could be responsible for many ailments.

Robin warned councillors that the science is now there for people affected by Roundup, sprayed by council contractors, to sue councils that do not take note.

“I want you to think about this,” says Robin.

The research paper headlined ‘Ethoxylated adjuvants of glyphosate-based herbicides are active principles of human cell toxicity’ is authored by Robin Mesnage, Benoit Bernay and Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini, from the University of Caen, France, and published in magazine Toxicology, February 2013.

The research finds a Roundup adjuvant (added ingredient), polyethoxylated tallowamine POE-15, is the most poisonous part of Roundup, toxic on human cells at 1-3 parts per million.

Glyphosate is supposed to be the “active ingredient” of Roundup, the most widely used herbicide in the world, and it is present in a large group of Roundup-like herbicides. Glyphosate has been safety-tested on mammals for the purposes of regulatory risk assessment.

Formulations of pesticides, as sold and used, contain added ingredients (adjuvants). They are often classified confidential and described as “inerts”. They help stabilize the chemical compound glyphosate and help it to penetrate plants, in the manner of corrosive detergents.

The formulated herbicides (including Roundup) can affect all living cells, especially human cells. This danger is overlooked because the active ingredient glyphosate, and Roundup-style herbicides up with additives, are treated as the same by industry and regulators on long-term studies.

The research challenges existing guidance values, such as the acceptable daily intake of glyphosate, when these are mostly based on a long term in vivo test (experimentation using a whole, living organism) of glyphosate alone.

Since pesticides are always used with adjuvants that could change their toxicity, the necessity to assess their whole formulations as mixtures becomes obvious. This challenges the concept of active principle of pesticides, for non-target species.

The supposed non-toxicity of glyphosate serves as a basis for the commercial release of Roundup. The health and environmental agencies and pesticide companies assess the long-term effects on mammals of glyphosate alone, and not the full formulation.

“Monsanto are insidious. They put it out that Roundup was safe, but it isn’t safe. Long term studies show this,” says Robin. “Europe has banned roundup.

“It changes things in the soil, it gets into the brain, disrupts the hormones, the nervous system and the enzyme system as well.”

The study concludes that all the glyphosate-based herbicides tested are more toxic than glyphosate alone. It follows that their regulatory assessments and the maximum residue levels authorized in the environment, food, and feed, are erroneous. A drink (such as tap water contaminated by Roundup residues) or a food made with a Roundup-tolerant GMO (like a transgenic soya or corn) have been demonstrated as toxic in a rat feeding study by Professor Séralini’s team.

The researchers say their findings are a matter of great concern for public health. All authorizations of Roundup-type herbicides have to be questioned urgently, and the regulatory assessment rules have to be fully revised.

Adjuvants of the POE-15 family (polyethoxylated tallowamine) have now been revealed as actively toxic to human cells, and must be regulated as such.

The complete formulations must be tested in long-term toxicity studies, and the results taken into account in regulatory assessments. The regulatory authorisation process for pesticides, released into the environment and sold in stores, must urgently be revised.

Moreover, since the toxic confidential adjuvants are in general use in pesticide formulations, Professor Séralini fears, according to these discoveries, that the toxicity of all pesticides has been very significantly underestimated.

Mayor Stuart Crosby says Robin’s submission will be discussed in early June.