Dear Editor:
A recent article in The Guardian, international edition (February 2019), states that exposure to glyphosate, an herbicide that is used to control shrubs and trees in ditches under hydro right-of-ways, raises the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (cancer) by 41 percent. Glyphosate herbicides are the most widely used weed killing products in the world. People with high exposure to the herbicides have a 41 percent increased risk of developing a type of caner called non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). This information contradicts the EPA or Environmental Protection Agency in the USA.
Monsanto, producer of this product, now faces more than 9,000 lawsuits in the USA by people suffering from this type of cancer. The first plaintiff to go to trial won by a unanimous jury verdict against Monsanto in August of 2018. More cases are pending this year.
Lianne Sheppard, a professor on the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences department of the University of Washington states, “this paper* makes a stronger case than previous research. It is a meta-analysis-which is a review of existing research. It makes a stronger case that there is evidence of an increased risk of NHL due to glyphosate exposure; from a population health point of view, there are some real concerns.”
What we can do as property owners is ask Hydro One not to spray on roadways attached to our own property. Many of us in rural areas have wells that could potentially be contaminated by the Garlon. Hydro One can choose to remove shrubs and trees by hiring people to cut them down. This will help employ more people and avoid the chemical route.
Petra Wall
Spring Bay
*Exposure to Glyphosate-Based Herbicides and Risk for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Meta-Analysis and Supporting Evidence
