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EPA, HHS Partner on Glyphosate Study

Todd Neeley 9/23 10:32 AM

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- With an updated risk assessment of glyphosate expected to be completed early next year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday announced a plan to expand the volume of information available in making that evaluation.

Under a memorandum of understanding, the agencies expect to exchange scientific information, identify research gaps and expand research into potential human health effects of glyphosate, according to a news release from the agencies. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup.

EPA said it "retains sole authority" for registration decisions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, or FIFRA, and the agencies said in the news release the MOU "creates no new authority" for either agency.

The agreement on glyphosate comes about one year after the first Make America Healthy Again Commission report said glyphosate and other pesticides may have negative health effects on children. A second MAHA report, however, recommended no change in how pesticides are regulated.

"FIFRA requires us to reexamine registered pesticides on a recurring cycle against the best available science and that is exactly what we are doing with glyphosate," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement.

"This agreement with Secretary (Robert) Kennedy and HHS gives our scientists access to research capacity at HHS that addresses potential gaps in the record. EPA will weigh what that work produces the way we weigh any other scientific evidence. We will evaluate the relevant evidence, address important scientific questions, and show our work, providing insight into how the science informs our decisions, as we always do, to conduct the most transparent and thorough review possible."

In addition, an EPA public comment period on glyphosate ends on Sept. 24, 2026, https://www.regulations.gov/…, as the agency has been seeking additional information for its risk assessment.

The agencies will establish a joint technical working group that brings together experts from EPA, according to the agreement, including the Office of Pesticide Programs and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Toxicology Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Environmental Health, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"The working group will identify priority scientific questions, coordinate research and information-sharing, and align its work with EPA's registration-review schedule," the agencies said on Tuesday.

"The partnership will focus on key areas where additional research and scientific coordination can strengthen the evidence base available to EPA, including the toxicology of glyphosate formulations and surfactants, occupational epidemiology, human exposure and biomonitoring, and dietary exposure."

As part of its registration review, EPA said it will "systematically evaluate" relevant peer-reviewed research published since its previous assessment and explain how the evidence informs its updated conclusions.

EPA said its human health risk assessment will address exposure to glyphosate-based formulations, dietary exposure including from preharvest applications and occupational exposure.

The agency said it also will evaluate the available cancer, genotoxicity, reproductive and developmental evidence on glyphosate.

FIFRA and the Food Quality Protection Act require the EPA to determine that there is a "reasonable certainty" of no harm from dietary exposure for infants and children.

"Americans have a right to know what the best science tells us about the chemicals they encounter in their food, workplaces, and environment," Kennedy said in the news release.

"We are bringing the scientific resources of HHS to the table to answer unresolved questions, strengthen the evidence, and give EPA the data it needs to conduct a rigorous review. We will ask the hard questions, demand sound science and follow the evidence wherever it leads."

The agreement between the agencies establishes a formal framework to exchange scientific information, identify outstanding research questions, coordinate additional research and bring HHS expertise and data to EPA's review.