February 17, 2017 — Roundup lawyers have released a bombshell piece of evidence supporting a conspiracy between the EPA and Monsanto to downplay the risk of cancer.
The lawyers represent more than 60 people who accuse Monsanto of failing to warn that Roundup weed-killer can cause Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Monsanto denies any link between Roundup and cancer.
So does the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It originally classified glyphosate as “possibly carcinogenic,” but has steadfastly declared it “not carcinogenic” since 1991.
The EPA and Monsnato’s conclusions came under fire in 2015, when the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared Roundup a “probable human carcinogen.”
Now we have evidence of scientists at the EPA who were seriously concerned about the safety of Roundup — and top officials at the EPA working closely with Monsanto to deny any risk whatsoever.
The evidence is a letter (PDF) dated March 4, 2013 by Ms. Marion Copley, a 30-year career toxicologist at the EPA who left the agency in 2012 because she had cancer. She died 10 months after sending the letter.
“I have cancer and I don’t want these serious issues … to go unaddressed before I go to my grave. I have done my duty.”
The letter accuses Mr. Jess Rowland, the EPA official in charge of reviewing the safety of glyphosate, of downplaying the risk of cancer and playing “political conniving games with the science.” He and another official are also accused of intimidating staff to change reports to skew more favorably to pesticide-makers like Monsanto.
The existence of the letter emerged in a motion (PDF) filed on February 10 asking judges to compel the testimony of Mr. Rowland. Monsanto’s lawyers are currently fighting against the release of more evidence of interactions with Mr. Rowland.
Mr. Rowland left the EPA in 2016, just days after an 86-page “FINAL” report he co-authored was leaked on the EPA website. The report concluded that Roundup was “not likely” carcinogenic in humans.
The report was pulled off a few days later, along with summaries of three meetings between the EPA and Monsanto in 2015 — and other data, such as Roundup’s effects on milkweed and Monarch butterflies.
According to Ms. Copley, here is a list of 14 ways Roundup could cause cancer in humans…
- Chelators inhibit apoptosis, the process by which our bodies kill tumor cells
- Chelators are endocrine disruptors, involved in tumorigenesis
- Glyphosate induces lymphocyte proliferation
- Glyphosate induces free radical formation
- Chelators inhibit free radical scavenging enzymes requiring Zn, Mn or Cu for activity (i.e. SODs)
- Chelators bind zinc, necessary for immune system function
- Glyphosate is genotoxic, a key cancer mechanism
- Chelators inhibit DNA repair enzymes requiring metal cofactors
- Chelators bind Ca, Zn, Mg, etc to make foods deficient for these essential nutrients
- Chelators bind calcium necessary for calcineurin-mediated immune response
- Chelators often damage the kidneys or pancreas, as glyphosate does, a mechanism to tumor formation
- Kidney / pancreas damage can lead to clinical chemistry changes to favor tumor growth
- Glyphosate kills bacteria in the gut and the gastrointestinal system is 80% of the immune system
- Chelators suppress the immune system making the body susceptible to tumors
Do I have a Roundup Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Roundup induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Toxic Chemical Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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