Monsanto Roundup

Roundup herbicide, made by Monsanto Company, is used in a variety of settings, from home gardens and family farms to commercial agriculture and industrial farmland. It is commonly used on commercial food crops such as corn and soybeans. These crops are often genetically modified to survive the deadly effects of frequent dousing with large amounts of Roundup herbicide. According to the EPA, glyphosate is America’s most used pesticide ingredient. The agency reports that United States farmers used about 290 million pounds of glyphosate in 2012. That is nearly double the amount used just seven years earlier.

Roundup herbicide exposure may happen in a range of residential and commercial environments. People at high risk of exposure often work in landscaping and the agricultural industry. Workers who are most at risk of exposure are:

• Crop workers, farm workers
• Landscapers, groundskeepers
• Applicators who spray Roundup
• Workers at large home improvement stores
• People working in smaller nurseries
• People working at farm stands

Over 42,700 lawsuits alleging that glyphosate in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide causes cancer are filed around the country. Plaintiffs in those cases allege that they were never warned about the potential risks associated with the weed killer. Plaintiffs claim that Monsanto knew of the serious health risks for years but hid the information, rather than provide adequate warnings.

In August 2018, a San Francisco jury unanimously agreed that Roundup weed killer caused a 46-year-old school groundskeeper’s lymphoma. The plaintiff was responsible for mixing the herbicide and spaying the school district’s properties. The weed killer occasionally blew back on him and in one stance, doused the groundskeeper. He was later diagnosed with lymphoma. DeWayne Lee Johnson is the first person to take a case to trial against Monsanto alleging Roundup causes cancer.

In March 2019, a federal jury unanimously found that Roundup was a substantial factor in causing a 70-year-old Sonoma County man’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The plaintiff, a self-proclaimed do-it-yourselfer, applied the herbicide for decades on his 56-acre property. He bought the Roundup concentrate and pump-up sprayer from his local hardware store. Edwin Hardeman’s case against Monsanto is the first to be tried in federal court.

For years, concerned environmental scientists and consumer groups have been advocating for tighter restrictions and a ban on glyphosate use. If you or someone you know has been exposed to Monsanto’s Roundup and developed leukemia or lymphoma, the lawyers at Waters Kraus & Paul would like to hear from you.