Exposure to two popular herbicides is associated with lower brain functioning among adolescents, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the University of California-San Diego and Emory University reported finding traces of glyphosate — the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup and the most popular herbicide in the United States —in 98 percent of the teens in a recent study.

After analyzing the participants, the team assessed the teens’ cognitive performance in five key areas: attention and inhibitory control, memory and learning, language, visuospatial processing, and social perception.

Teens with higher levels of 2,4-D, also known as Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, were more likely to perform poorly in attention, memory, learning and language. Those with higher levels of glyphosate were more likely to perform poorly in social perception, according to the findings.

What Are Herbicides?

Herbicides are widely used in agriculture and forestry, on lawns and gardens, and in industrial areas. Brazil is the world’s largest user of herbicides, using 719,000 metric tons annually. The United States is the second-largest consumer, using 457,000 tons. Worldwide, consumption stands at 3.53 million metric tons, according to Statista.

Global use of glyphosate and 2,4-D has skyrocketed since the mid 1990s when genetically modified crops were developed to be resistant to the chemicals.

“Hundreds of new chemicals are released into the market each year, and more than 80,000 chemicals are registered for use today,” senior study author Jose Ricardo Suarez, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health at UC-San Diego told Newsweek. “Sadly, very little is known about the safety and long-term effects on humans of most of these chemicals. Additional research is needed to truly understand the impact.”

Who Produces Herbicides?

According to Statista, Syngenta and Bayer CropScience are the two leading agrochemical companies based on sales in 2021. Syngenta reported over 13.3 billion U.S. dollars of pesticide sales in that year, while Bayer CropScience’s pesticide revenue stood at almost 11.4 billion U.S. dollars. Other leading companies in the pesticide sector include BASF, Corteva, UPL, FMC, and Adama.

Cancer Victims Fight for Justice

Consumers and workers have taken notice of the dangers, and tens of thousands of lawsuits have been filed by individuals who have developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma following exposure to Roundup. In 2023, juries in four separate trials returned combined verdicts of more than $2 billion, after finding that exposure to chemicals in Roundup caused the cancer diagnoses.

How We Help Victims of Pesticide Exposure

With a national presence and a wealth of experience prosecuting pesticide exposure cases, Waters Kraus & Paul has battled corporate giants on behalf of individuals like you for 20 years, aggressively fighting to hold them responsible for failing to keep workers safe. If you have suffered catastrophic injury or cancer caused by Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer or other harmful chemicals, we can help.