NGOs accuse Bayer of hiding glyphosate risk data
2 Min Read
Environmental groups have long claimed that there is scientific proof that glyphosate causes cancer, poisons life in oceans and kills bees and other pollinators.
-
The Bayer logo is seen at the main chemical plant of German Bayer AG in Leverkusen, Germany on August 9, 2019. (AP)
An NGO coalition said Wednesday that it has filed allegations in an Austrian court alleging that Bayer concealed data demonstrating health dangers from exposure to its herbicide glyphosate, which the EU has planned to continue using for another ten years.
Environmental groups have long claimed that there is scientific proof that glyphosate causes cancer, poisons life in oceans, and kills bees and other pollinators.
Prosecutors in Vienna launched an investigation in 2019 after NGOs filed lawsuits citing the herbicide's hazards.
The Global 2000 group stated that it had provided prosecutors with data apparently demonstrating that Bayer concealed study data suggesting nervous system hazards, particularly for pregnant women and children.
Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, a biochemist with Global 2000, told AFP that "in its re-authorisation request, Bayer wrongly excluded unfavourable data or presented results in a misleading way."
Bayer denied having withheld any studies and claimed it always acted "in a completely transparent manner."
In June, a study by Sweden-based researchers found that some large agrochemical corporations failed to report to European Union authorities studies examining the hazardous effects of pesticide components on brain development.
The nine studies, which examined how different pesticide chemical components influenced developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) in rats, were shared with US regulators and included German chemicals giant Bayer and Swiss agribusiness firm Syngenta.
Glyphosate is categorized as a "probable carcinogen" by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer.
"We thought it was important for decision-makers to know that the risk evaluations were based on incorrect or incomplete data," Burtscher-Schaden indicated.
