Expert: IARC Herbicide Classifications Leading To Confusion, Misinformation

Few people in the crop protection industry had heard of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) before this year. Today, however, the work of the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO) has fueled sensationalist headlines, calls to ban pesticides, and knee-jerk regulatory decisions around the world, reports Dr. Howard Minigh, CropLife International, in a recent article for Meister Media Worldwide sister publication FCI.

In March, the agency convened a one-week meeting in Lyon, France, to assess the carcinogenicity potential of five crop protection products. Three were classified as “possibly” and two as “probably” carcinogenic to humans, the most high profile of which was glyphosate. In June IARC assessed 2,4-D, DDT and lindane.

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Notwithstanding our concerns about how the classifications were reached, the failure to spell out that IARC classifications are based purely on a hazard identification, not a risk assessment, has led to great confusion – and often misinformation – being propagated through the media to farmers, regulators, our stakeholders, the NGO community and the general public.

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Industry critics have taken advantage of the confusion and are seeing the fruits of their campaigning – for example the Colombian and Bermudan governments have agreed to suspend certain uses of glyphosate, citing the IARC classification as a primary reason, while a German DIY chain has stopped stocking glyphosate products.

But to ban or restrict a product solely on the IARC classification is entirely baseless. Over the years, IARC has generated hazard identification classifications on many everyday products, including coffee, Aloe vera, talcum powder, and even cell phones. But there is no call to ban these products, just as we shouldn’t call to ban crop protection products on this basis.

Read the full story over on farmchemicalsinternational.com

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