On August 29, 2018, environmental groups took the argument against Bayer AG Monsanto’s weed killer to federal court. Specifically, the environmental groups argued that the EPA should vacate and remove its approval of a significant weed killer product. If you have been following our blog and national news recently, it would be understandable if you assumed this product was Roundup. However, the product these groups are focusing on is not glyphosate.
Rather, the groups filed a lawsuit to force the EPA to get rid of its approval for XtendiMax, which relies on dicamba for weed killing.
What Is Dicamba?
Dicamba is a weed-killing herbicide that performs its function by imitating plant-growth hormones (auxins), which causes weeds to grow abnormally and eventually die. This herbicide is often used in conjunction with Roundup since some weeds have grown resistant to the glyphosate contained in Roundup over time. Dicamba, therefore, kills the weeds that glyphosate is now otherwise incapable of removing.
Why Do Environmental Groups Want EPA Removal for Dicamba Removed?
One of the major harms associated with dicamba is its ability to drift from its original site of application. There are many pending lawsuits between farmers and other parties whose crops and plants have been damaged by so-called dicamba drift. This drift occurs because dicamba vaporizes after application, and environmental groups argue that the following have all been significantly affected by dicamba drift:
- Crops
- Plants
- Other wildlife
As such, the groups are specifically arguing that the EPA’s determination that XtendiMax would have no effect on plants and animal life is simply inaccurate. According to the Earthjustice non-profit attorney Paul Achitoff’s statement before the 9th U.S. Circuit, this declaration by the EPA was both "arbitrary and capricious."
This argument seems to be supported by the evidence, especially in light of a study showing that as much as 4 percent of the 2017 soybean crops in the United States were destroyed by dicamba drift. This percentage equates to a stunning 3 million acres.
In addition to the harms of plants, crops and wildlife, there is also an outstanding question as to whether dicamba also causes cancer and negative health consequences for humans. Just as some studies and reports (including an influential WHO determination in 2015) suggest that glyphosate is probably carcinogenic to humans, some studies have linked dicamba to causing cancer as well.
That said, there is greater evidence that glyphosate is carcinogenic, and scientists have yet to clearly draw a direct link between dicamba exposure and cancer. For its part, the EPA says that dicamba is not likely to cause cancer, and it issued a similar finding related to glyphosate.
The science is not yet settled, however, which is why it is important to talk with a Roundup and Xtendimax cancer lawyer if you have diagnosed with cancer after exposure to glyphosate and/or dicamba.
The Ledger Law Firm represents plaintiffs who have been diagnosed with cancer after years of using potentially harmful herbicides like Roundup. Contact us online for a free case evaluation with an herbicide cancer lawyer at Ledger Law today.
