By Tara Cosoleto in Melbourne
There is not enough evidence to prove an ingredient used in a popular weed killer causes cancer, a Federal Court judge has found.
Justice Michael Lee handed down his judgement in the class action against widely-used herbicide Roundup on Thursday afternoon.
The case, launched by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, claims Roundup’s active ingredient glyphosate caused the cancer of more than 800 Australian non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients.
Justice Lee ruled there is not enough current evidence to say glyphosate is carcinogenic and capable of causing non-Hodgkin lymphoma in humans.
The judge only needed to consider the question of general causation – not the specific claims of lead applicant Kelvin McNickle or the other class action group members.
Justice Lee ordered the proceedings be dismissed.
Bayer, which acquired Roundup’s producer Monsanto in 2018, has previously stated glyphosate-based herbicides have been rigorously tested in hundreds of studies and it is safe when used as directed.
Who can be trusted?
In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.
If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.
Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.
Thank you,
Ian Meikle, editor
Leave a Reply