Recent news coming out of California regarding labels for glyphosate—a main ingredient for many brands of herbicide—has consumers realizing that they have been exposed to a chemical known to cause cancer without any prior warning. Specifically, state regulators with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (part of the California Environmental Protection Agency) announced (on September 4th) that they plan to start listing the ingredient as a known carcinogen, and they will be collecting comments on the proposal for 30 days.
The state’s move was in reaction to the determination made by the World Health Organization identifying glyphosate as a probable carcinogen earlier this year. California is specifically required to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm, and businesses must then provide a clear warning on their products if they use these chemicals in any given product. Although some (such as Monsanto) argue with these findings, others are noting how important this move is to protecting public health and wildlife from harmful carcinogens.
More on Glyphosate
Glyphosate has been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as able to potentially cause the following additional health effects from acute exposure:
- Congestion of the lungs;
- Increased breathing rate;
- Kidney damage; and
- Reproductive effects.
The chemical is an herbicide registered for use on many food and non-food crops and as a plant growth regulator in lower doses. The most common uses include control of weeds and grasses in hays/pastures, soybeans, lawns, turf, forest plantings, greenhouses, and field corn. It is amongst the most widely used pesticide by volume, with millions of pounds used each year in the U.S. It is also sold as isopropylamine salt and applied in liquid form.
Does Louisiana Require Notice Regarding Carcinogens?
Unfortunately, Louisiana does not yet have a proposition similar to California requiring the publication of chemicals known to cause cancer and other harm. Arguably, the chemical industry’s influence in the state has interfered with legislative efforts to control the use of toxic materials and even keep citizens educated about them. Louisiana is also home to many chemical plants and, perhaps not ironically, people who suffer from high rates of cancer linked to chronic chemical exposure.
Environmental Hazard and Personal Injury Attorneys Harrell & Nowak
Sometimes the company or person in charge decides that it’s cheaper to release dangerous products than to prevent toxic and chemical exposure to innocent people. Personal injuries happen all the time simply because some else was careless in what they did or how they acted. And many of these personal injuries could have been prevented by the wrongdoer simply taking reasonable and common sense steps.
Having spent years litigating against these bad actors and negligent parties, the attorneys of Harrell & Nowak are well equipped to serve as environmental hazard and personal injury attorneys in Louisiana. We have helped many victims in New Orleans, Kenner, Metairie, and throughout Louisiana obtain financial compensation for their injuries. Our lawyers will work to ensure that your rights are protected and that you receive a fair recovery if your injury has been caused by some else being irresponsible.