A regulatory perspective on the potential carcinogenicity of glyphosate

Abstract

On March 20th of 2015, the International Research on Cancer (IARC), affiliated with the World Health Organization (WHO), classified two organophosphate insecticides (malathion and diazinon) and one herbicide (glyphosate) as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A). Because these pesticides are currently registered in Egypt, the Senior Management Team (SMT) of the Agricultural Pesticide Committee (APC), Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, was held on the following day of the IARC designation, and assigned the author of this review to make a case study particularly on glyphosate due to its uniqueness and the recent controversial views regarding its human and environmental safety. Even though the IARC classification has no mandatory impact on regulatory agencies, it was decided to conduct a review of the toxicological evidence on glyphosate and its current regulatory status in the International Pesticide Regulatory Agencies/Authorities. This review-based report is intended to help pesticide regulatory agencies in the third world countries through case-modeling.