GEORGE NEWS - A resident of Camphersdrift is highly upset about a certain herbicide sprayed on public pavements and streets.
She says municipal workers on a bakkie of the George Municipality's parks and gardens section are using a herbicide named Suburb that contains glyphosate, a chemical that has been investigated for cancer-causing links.
"I do not want herbicides sprayed near my home or in our town. They were spraying both sides of the street. They spray in the air and also against trees, walls and everything," said the complainant who wants to remain anonymous.
"The only safety equipment worn by the two men on the bakkie were safety goggles. One had a mask, but he was not wearing it. The driver was not wearing any safety gear. The wind blew the spray back onto them."
The unhappy resident referred to a recent court case in which a US jury ordered Monsanto to pay damages of $289-million (about R4,173-billion) to a former school groundskeeper, Dewayne Johnson, who is dying of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. The cancer is believed to have been caused by his exposure to a glyphosate-based herbicide manufactured by the company.
The IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) classified glyphosate as a Group 2A chemical: 'Probably carcinogenic to humans' - which means there is strong evidence that it can cause cancer in humans, but at present it is not conclusive. Monsanto (recently merged with Bayer), the company that developed and introduced glyphosate to the world in 1974, disputes this classification.
According to the IARC, glyphosate is widely used in South Africa and has been found in bread flour and maize meal. Its local and global use is growing. Half of the country's maize crop and 100% of the soy crop is genetically modified, rendering it resistant to glyphosate, and therefore glyphosate is the herbicide used. Glyphosate is also used by consumers in their gardens.
Cansa's position
In its position statement on glyphosate, the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) says it accepts the IARC's classification of the chemical and "the finding of a positive association between glyphosate exposure and non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma".
It further accepts research results that indicate that glyphosate could be responsible (among others) for endocrine disruption, increasing risk of breast and other cancers, genotoxic changes (damage to the genetic information within a cell) and capability of forming tumours. The association says it advocates that the national agricultural department should re-examine the conditions of approval of glyphosate in South Africa. The health department should also investigate the health implications of glyphosate exposure in the country. Human, animal and environmental exposure to glyphosate must be limited as far as possible.
Contamination, half-life
According to the IARC, glyphosate-based herbicides often contaminate drinking water sources, precipitation and air, especially in agricultural regions. The half-life of glyphosate (the time it takes for half of the residues to dissipate) in water and soil is longer than previously recognised - its average half-life in soil is about 60 days.
This is not to say that all of the compound will be gone in 120 days. Detectable levels can be present even after 3 to 4 half-lives, according to the IARC.
Read a related article: Fires expose birds to insecticides
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