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People in 18 countries across Europe have been found to have traces of the weed killer glyphosate in their urine, show the results of tests commissioned by Friends of the Earth Europe and released today [1].
The findings raise concerns about increasing levels of exposure to glyphosate-based weed killers, commonly used by farmers, public authorities and gardeners across Europe. The use of glyphosate is predicted to rise further if more genetically modified (GM) crops are grown in Europe [2].
A 2000 review concluded that "under present and expected conditions of new use, there is no potential for Roundup herbicide to pose a health risk to humans".[63] A 2002 review by the European Union reached the same conclusion.[64] Glyphosate causes oxidative damage to human skin cells. Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E were found by one study to provide some protection against such damage, leading the authors to recommend that these chemicals be added to glyphosate formulations.[65] Severe skin burns are very rare.[47]
Originally posted by Philippines
So why is glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup, being found in the urine of these Europeans, who supposedly live in a place free of transgenic GMOs?
Glyphosate is marketed ... worldwide by many agrochemical companies in different solution strengths under many tradenames: Accord, Aquaneat, Aquamaster, Bronco, Buccaneer, Campain, Clearout 41 Plus, Clear-up, Expedite, Fallow Master, Genesis Extra I, Glyfos Induce, Glypro, GlyStar Induce, GlyphoMax Induce, Honcho, JuryR, Landmaster, MirageR, Pondmaster, Protocol, Prosecutor, Ranger, Rascal, Rattler, Razor Pro, Rodeo, Roundup, I, Roundup Pro Concentrate, Roundup UltraMax, Roundup WeatherMax, Silhouette, Touchdown IQ.[29][30][31][32]
Manufacturers include Bayer, Dow AgroSciences, Du Pont, Cenex/Land O’Lakes, Helena, Monsanto, Platte, Riverside/Terra, and Zeneca.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but that doesn't seem very objective at first glance.
The goal of this study was to support the biomonitoring work of the BUND / FoE against the background of increasing Glyphosate use in some European countries.
That doesn't seem to be many. But what is this "tentative" reference value?
All in all 12 (6.6%) participants of the study significantly exceeded the tentative reference value of 0.8 ìg/L for
Glyphosate
So the reference value is only valid for a portion of Germany, but it is being used as the value for 18 countries in Europe?
The reference values for Glyphosate and AMPA are only tentative. They were derived from an urban collective (n=90) and are defined as the 95. percentile of the measured values. They were established by Medical Laboratory Bremen in 2012 during the process of the method validation. Strictly speaking they are only valid to the region of Bremen.
Originally posted by alfa1
Originally posted by Philippines
So why is glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup, being found in the urine of these Europeans, who supposedly live in a place free of transgenic GMOs?
Didnt you do any reading at all about the topic before you created this thread?
Even a simple glance at the wikipedia page would have answered many of them.
1. Monsanto (boo!, hiss!) hasnt had the patent rights to it since 2000.
A #eload of different companies make glyphosate products.
Glyphosate is marketed ... worldwide by many agrochemical companies in different solution strengths under many tradenames: Accord, Aquaneat, Aquamaster, Bronco, Buccaneer, Campain, Clearout 41 Plus, Clear-up, Expedite, Fallow Master, Genesis Extra I, Glyfos Induce, Glypro, GlyStar Induce, GlyphoMax Induce, Honcho, JuryR, Landmaster, MirageR, Pondmaster, Protocol, Prosecutor, Ranger, Rascal, Rattler, Razor Pro, Rodeo, Roundup, I, Roundup Pro Concentrate, Roundup UltraMax, Roundup WeatherMax, Silhouette, Touchdown IQ.[29][30][31][32]
Manufacturers include Bayer, Dow AgroSciences, Du Pont, Cenex/Land O’Lakes, Helena, Monsanto, Platte, Riverside/Terra, and Zeneca.
2. Glyphosate is used for many more purposes than GMO (boo!, hiss!) crops.
But hey, never let the facts get in the way of a good GMO/Monsanto bashing story. Its what ATS users thrive on.
edit on 16-6-2013 by alfa1 because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by charles1952
Thanks for the thread, interesting stuff.
I looked at the study and found some interesting things. First, it was commissioned (and I assume paid for) by Friends of the Earth - Europe. If it had been commissioned by Monsanto, I know ATSers would reject it as biased. So maybe this one is, too?
Second, look at the purpose of the study:
Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but that doesn't seem very objective at first glance.
The goal of this study was to support the biomonitoring work of the BUND / FoE against the background of increasing Glyphosate use in some European countries.
Third, what did they actually find?
That doesn't seem to be many. But what is this "tentative" reference value?
All in all 12 (6.6%) participants of the study significantly exceeded the tentative reference value of 0.8 ìg/L for
Glyphosate
So the reference value is only valid for a portion of Germany, but it is being used as the value for 18 countries in Europe?
The reference values for Glyphosate and AMPA are only tentative. They were derived from an urban collective (n=90) and are defined as the 95. percentile of the measured values. They were established by Medical Laboratory Bremen in 2012 during the process of the method validation. Strictly speaking they are only valid to the region of Bremen.
I'm sorry, but this test is not impressive at all. I give it no credibility.
And I like beagles. Poor dogs.
Animals
•• Researchers gave beagle dogs capsules containing 0, 20,100, or 500 mg/kg/day of glyphosate for one year. No effects were observed; the No Observed Effect Level (NOEL) for systemic toxicity is greater than or equal to 500 mg/kg/day.
That means one poor sap had a urine level of 233,000 parts per trillion. I'm surprised he didn't die on the spot.
Researchers collected urine samples over 8 months from workers at •• two forestry nurseries where glyphosate was used for weed control. No glyphosate was detected in any of the 355 urine samples. The researchers attributed the lack of detected glyphosate in worker urine samples to the poor absorption of glyphosate through the skin.
•• Five forestry workers sprayed glyphosate for 6 hours a day over the course of a week. No statistically significant differences were found in medical examinations and laboratory testing performed on the workers following pesticide application.
•• Researchers collected urine samples from farm families in South Carolina and Minnesota as part of the Farm Family Exposure Study. On the day of application, 60% of farmers had a detectable level of glyphosate in their urine of at least 1 ppb. The geometric mean of glyphosate detected was 3 ppb, with a maximum value of 233 ppb. Mean urinary concentrations of glyphosate were higher in farmers who did not use rubber gloves during application.
Metabolism
•• Glyphosate undergoes little metabolism and is excreted mostly unchanged in the feces and secondarily in the urine.
•• Samples taken from goats and hens fed glyphosate contained the parent compound and AMPA, but there was no evidence of other glyphosate metabolites in body tissues, eggs, or milk.
•• High ratios of glyphosate to AMPA were detected in a human patient’s blood serum 8 hrs (22.6 ìg/ml glyphosate to 0.18 ìg/ml AMPA) and 16 hrs (4.4 ìg/ml glyphosate to 0.03 ìg/ml AMPA) post-ingestion, as well as in the patient’s total amount of urine. This indicates that glyphosate metabolism was minimal.
A close reading of the literature suggests the manufacturer’s assumptions that
glyphosate is “completely safe for the environment” is an overstatement. For
instance, on January 10, 1997, after receiving complaints from the New York
Attorney General’s Office, Monsanto agreed to remove its advertisements
portraying the herbicide as “environmentally friendly” and “biodegradable”.
The Attorney General’s Office disapproved of the advertisements on grounds that
they inaccurately implied that Roundup® is as safe as the active ingredient,
glyphosate. As the Attorney General pointed out, the product contains ingredients with toxicity greater than glyphosate alone.
Glyphosate is very stable in the environment. The chemical binds to many soil
types and clay materials, making it immobile in many soils. Because
glyphosate binds so tightly to soils, it can move into groundwater when the soil
particles are washed into streams or rivers. Its binding to soil particles is also
responsible for inhibiting soil microorganisms. High levels of glyphosate are
known to inhibit soil respiration after ten weeks of chronic exposure.
Glyphosate has been detected in run-off four months after application and in
stream sediment 19 months after application. Although molecules of
glyphosate tightly bond to organic matter and sandy soils, glyphosate can
remain active in the environment.
Originally posted by Philippines
So why is glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup, being found in the urine of these Europeans, who supposedly live in a place free of transgenic GMOs?
Originally posted by NuclearPaul
Originally posted by Philippines
So why is glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup, being found in the urine of these Europeans, who supposedly live in a place free of transgenic GMOs?
It is obviously getting into normal crops through either overspray landing on them, or being absorbed through the roots out of the ground.
ETA: I remember years ago a farmer here used DDT on his land and wiped out a few crops several kilometres away.edit on 16/6/13 by NuclearPaul because: (no reason given)
Upon receipt of the second rat chronic/ carcinogenicity study, all findings were referred to the Health Effects Division Carcinogenicity Peer Review Committee. In 1991, the Peer Review Committee classified glyphosate as Group E (evidence of non-carcinogenicity) based on a lack of convincing evidence.
Originally posted by charles1952
reply to post by markosity1973
Dear markosity1973,
Forgive my confusion, but the tests seem to indicate that it should be found in the body's waste products and just about nowhere else. Apparently, whatever enters the system is, for the most part, excreted without effect.
Or are you primarily concerned with the surfactants? That may be a slightly different issue.
As far as the New York Attorney General goes, he didn't ask them, apparently, to remove or change the product, just the labelling.
And, as your fact sheet explained:
Upon receipt of the second rat chronic/ carcinogenicity study, all findings were referred to the Health Effects Division Carcinogenicity Peer Review Committee. In 1991, the Peer Review Committee classified glyphosate as Group E (evidence of non-carcinogenicity) based on a lack of convincing evidence.
Isn't that about as clean a bill of health as a product can get?
Originally posted by gladtobehere
reply to post by Philippines
How long before ther FDA and EPA tell us that its not harmful.
Soon they'll tell us that Round Up is good for us!
ETA: I remember years ago a farmer here used DDT on his land and wiped out a few crops several kilometres away.
Originally posted by totallackey
reply to post by NuclearPaul
ETA: I remember years ago a farmer here used DDT on his land and wiped out a few crops several kilometres away.
Just asking...how does a pesticide eliminate plants?edit on 16-6-2013 by totallackey because: clarity