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Glyphosate,
often marketed under the
Round-Up brand / A.M.
Costa Rica wire services
photo
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The
Ombudsman's Office
recommends
prohibiting glyphosate
herbicides
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By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Ombudsman's Office
recommended the total
elimination of the use,
exportation, and import of the
herbicide glyphosate as it is
considered harmful to health.
"It is considered necessary and
supported the proposal of
Executive Decree for the
prohibition of the import,
manufacture, sale, and supply of
active ingredients technical
grade, its salts and formulated
products containing the active
ingredient glyphosate," says the
Comptroller in its statement.
Glyphosate, often marketed under
the Round-Up brand, is applied
in urban public areas such as
parks, cemeteries, street
rounds, sidewalks, pipes and all
kinds of green areas.
Its use is currently prohibited
at three universities, the
University of Costa Rica, the
State University at a Distance
and the National Technical
University and in
municipalities, which in
alphabetical order are:
Alajuela, Aserrí, Barva, Belén,
Corredores, Curridabat,
Desamparados, Escazú, Esparza,
La Unión, Montes de Oca,
Orotina, Pérez Zeledón, Quepos,
San Isidro de Heredia, San
Mateo, Santa Ana, Santo Domingo,
Sarapiquí, Talamanca and Tibás.
In the U.S., the Environmental
Protection Agency, EPA, said
that the weed killer glyphosate
is unlikely to cause cancer in
humans, but recommended new
measures to prevent potential
ecological risks, especially to
monarch butterflies and other
pollinators.
According to the agency,
glyphosate developer Monsanto
was convicted in 2018 and 2019
of not taking necessary steps to
warn of the potential risks of
Round-Up, their weed killer
containing the chemical, which
two California juries found
caused cancer in two users.
In a statement, EPA
Administrator Andrew Wheeler
said the agency found "no risks
to public health from the
currently registered uses of
glyphosate." It did not propose
new instructions, subject to a
public comment period, for
farmers and others using the
chemical to reduce "spray drift"
that can harm butterflies.
Under those regulations,
glyphosate labels in the U.S.
would have to instruct aerial
users to spray the chemical from
more than 10 feet (three meters)
above crops, or if wind speeds
exceed 15 miles per hour (24
kilometers per hour).
Meanwhile, labels would be
required to state that when
applied from the ground, the
chemical must not be sprayed
from more than four feet above
crops and that all must be set
to mist the product at a "fine"
or coarser setting.
The proposed instructions also
include new regulations around
glyphosate's use around water.
The EPA said the chemical
presents "low toxicity" to honey
bees, but does present a
"potential risk" to birds and
plants, including aquatic
plants.
The International Agency for
Research on Cancer, part of the
World Health Organization, said
in 2015 that glyphosate was
likely carcinogenic.
German pharmaceutical firm
Bayer, which bought Monsanto,
announced that over 13,000
lawsuits related to the weed
killer have been launched in the
U.S.
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Should Health Ministry prohibit
of the use of this herbicide in
the country? We would like to
know your thoughts on this
story. Send your
comments to: news@amcostarica.com
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