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Groups at Odds over Herbicide's Cancer Risk07-10-15 | News

Groups at Odds over Herbicide's Cancer Risk

2,4-D, a weed-control herbicide, was recently classified as a possible carcinogen by an international research agency – a claim that a pesticide industry task force takes to task.

The 2,4-D Research Task Force, an industry-led research venture that funds studies required to support the registration and reviews of the herbicide 2,4-D, recently released a statement critical of the assertion by the International Agency for Research on Cancer that 2,4-D is a "2B – possible" carcinogen.

The task force maintains that the IARC's claim contradicts other cancer reviews completed by health and safety regulators worldwide.

"No regulatory agency in the world considers 2,4-D to be a carcinogen," said Dr. Julie Goodman, an epidemiologist, board certified toxicologist and consultant to the 2,4-D Research Task Force. "This ranking does not mean that 2,4-D causes or is even likely to cause cancer in people. IARC ranks substances based on potential hazards, but it is important to look at how they are used to assess real-world risk. IARC has assigned its 2B grouping to many other common products including aloe vera, coffee and pickled vegetables."

2,4-D, first registered in 1947, is used to control invasive and noxious weeds in a variety of situations. The task force declares that no herbicide has been more thoroughly and continually studied, and that "based on published, ongoing and continually updated scientific studies, health and safety authorities in more than 90 countries"?(R)? continue to find that 2,4-D meets modern safety standards."

In 2014, the EPA said that the current evidence shows 2,4-D as not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.

The task force is made up of companies holding technical 2,4-D registrations.