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Collusion Or Coincidence? Records Show EPA Efforts To Slow Herbicide Review Came In Coordination With Monsanto

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Newly released documents from 2015 show the EPA working with the Pesticide Industry to keep toxic chemicals on the market for as long as possible.

“Newly released government email communications show a persistent effort by multiple officials within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to slow a separate federal agency’s safety review of Monsanto’s top-selling herbicide. Notably, the records demonstrate that the EPA efforts came at the behest of Monsanto, and that EPA officials were helpful enough to keep the chemical giant updated on their progress.”

Read the full Huffington Post article by Carey Gillam “Collusion Or Coincidence? Records Show EPA Efforts To Slow Herbicide Review Came In Coordination With Monsanto” (published August 17, 2017) at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5994dad4e4b056a2b0ef02f1

Internal EPA Documents Show Scramble For Data On Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide

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For decades, the EPA has been assuring U.S. citizens that glyphosate formulations are safe to use despite a total lack of safety data on the “inert” ingredients, including polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA). The latest FOIA documents released by U.S. Right to Know show EPA “scrambling” to get data on these chemicals, even as it continues to assure the public there is no cause for concern.

“And indeed, the EPA has been a stalwart supporter of Monsanto Co.’s claims of safety, assuring the public that there is nothing to fear from the company’s cocktail of chemicals. But internal agency documents, released in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, indicate that as recently as last year, the agency had holes in its data files when it comes to the actual Roundup formulations used by consumers, farmers and others around the world. The documents also raise questions about how and why regulators for years have failed to require robust testing on what is the world’s most widely used weed killer.”

Internal documents by Monsanto scientists also confirm a lack of safety testing on the other ingredients in glyphosate herbicides:

“In a 2002 email also obtained as part of discovery in the court case, a Monsanto scientist writes to a colleague, “we are in pretty good shape with glyphosate but vulnerable with surfactants. What I’ve been hearing from you is that this continues to be the case with these studies – Glyphosate is OK but the formulated product (and thus the surfactant) does the damage.” In another 2002 email between the same Monsanto colleagues, the scientist writes, “Even though no testing requirements have been implemented for several years now, this damn endocrine crap just doesn’t go away, does it.”

Read read this important Huffington Post article “Internal EPA Documents Show Scramble For Data On Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide” written by Veteran Journalist and research director of U.S. Right to Know Cary Gillam (7 August 2017) in full at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5988dd73e4b030f0e267c6cd

 

Monsanto Emails Raise Issue of Influencing Research on Roundup Weed Killer

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A law firm released documents indicating connections between Monsanto corporation and Henry I. Miller and other academics. They suggest academics either volunteered or were asked to ghost-write articles defending Monsanto products. Other documents revealed a contractual relationship between Monsanto and A. Wallace Hayes, the former editor of a scientific journal, Food and Chemical Toxicology. Hayes retracted a peer-reviewed paper showing glyphosate and GE corn could harm rats.

Read the full article, “Monsanto Emails Raise Issue of Influencing Research on Roundup Weed Killer” by Danny Hakim at the NYT (1 August 2017) : https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/business/monsantos-sway-over-research-is-seen-in-disclosed-emails.html?_r=0&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Business%20Day&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article

Collusion between Monsanto and academics was revealed by previous FOIA requests, including documents released two years ago by the group US Right to Know. This story was covered by Independent Science News in: https://www.independentsciencenews.org/science-media/the-puppetmasters-of-academia-ny-times-left-out/