California places popular N.B. herbicide on list of cancer-causing chemicals

Widely used in New Brunswick forests, the herbicide glyphosatehas beenclassified as a cancer-causing chemical in California.

On July 7,glyphosatewill be placed on the California stategovernment's list of carcinogenic chemicals.

This follows a decision by courts in the state to deny an appeal of the glyphosate classification by the company Monsanto, which producesseveralproducts that include the chemical, including the popularweed killerRoundup.

• California to list glyphosate as cancer-causing

All products containingglyphosatemust now be sold with warning labels that identify ingredients that arepotentially cancer-causing. Companies selling those products will have one year from July 7, 2017, to add those labels to their products.

Welcome decision

Glyphosateis commonly found in household garden herbicides, but is also widely used to control weeds on farmers' fields and to kill undergrowth on tree plantations.

Earlier this year, Health Canadaannouncedthepotential risks to human health and the environmentfrom pesticides containingglyphosateare acceptable, if used as directed in updated labels.

California joins several otherjurisdictions, including the Netherlands and several South American Countries, that have classifiedglyphosateas acarcinogen.

The decision was welcomed by New Brunswick groupswho want the material banned in the province.

"Hopefully it puts more pressure on provincial and municipalgovernmentsto look at pesticides and to consider warning labels," said TracyGlynn, forestry directorwith the Conservation Council of New Brunswick. "And then phaseit outcompletely."

While California's decision does not affect theuse of the chemical compound in this province, the New Brunswick Department of Health is aware ofthe recent classification.

For now,glyphosatecontinues to be approved for useenmassfor a variety of projects, includingNB Power's use of the material onitspower transmission lines, andJ.D. Irving'suse ofglyphosateto controlforest growth.

New Brunswick'sacting chief medical officer of health said the province will continue to monitor for any decisions on the product made by Health Canada.

"In New Brunswick, it is approved for use,"said Dr. Jennifer Russell. "We're justmonitoringthat situation and we keep abreast of whatever the new information is that is coming out."

Health Canada re-evaluation

Glyphosatewas first listed as"probably carcinogenic to humans"by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a branch of the World Health Organization, in 2015.

• Herbicide chemical glyphosate 'probably carcinogenic,' WHO agency finds
• NB Power apologizes over handling of herbicide spraying

Health Canada is now undergoing are-evaluation of the use ofglyphosatein Canada, butit's not yet known when those results will be published.

That's not enough forGlynn, who said the province has the power to make its own call on the use of the herbicide.

"We knowthata Supreme Courtdecisionaffirmed that municipalities and provincial governments can limit and ban pesticides," she said, adding that other provinces, such as Quebec, banned the use ofglyphosatein forestry "in light of public health concerns."

"And now we're spraying a record amount, the most of any province,at a time when NewBrunswickershave never been more opposed to it," said Glynn.

"So we think it's timeand New Brunswick needs toenter the 21st centuryin terms of forestry practices."