Roundup and Cancer: Timeline of What Monsanto Knew or Should Have Known

Austin Kirk

By Austin Kirk
Posted February 2, 2016

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The lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are reviewing potential Roundup cancer lawsuits against Monsanto, for failing to adequately research the human health risks associated with their popular weedkiller and for withholding important warnings from consumers and the agricultural industry.

Roundup WeedkillerAs these cases for non-Hodgkins lymphoma and other cancers from Roundup are being investigated, it has become increasingly clear that Monsanto has known for years, or certainly should have known, that the chemical glyphosate contained in Roundup may increase the risk of cancer and cause serious human health side effects.

Media attention on the link between Roundup and cancer emerged early last year, when the World Health Organization (WHO) categorized glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. However, substantial evidence existed long before these cancer warnings, which Monsanto either chose to ignore or actively withheld from the public.

The following timeline shows how far back concerns over glyphosate health effects have been raised:

1974 — Monsanto puts Roundup weed killer on the market.

1976 — The FDA inspects Industrial Bio-Test Industries (IBT) and raises questions about the validity of the independent lab’s toxicity tests of glyphosate. The EPA follows up and found the Roundup toxicity studies to be invalid and found “routine falsification of data.”

1983 — Three top IBT executives are convicted of fraud.

1985 — The EPA classifies glyphosate as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”

1991 — The EPA changes the classification to ‘evidence of non-carcinogenicity in humans” but cautions that does not mean glyphosate does not cause cancer.

1991 — A second independent lab, Craven Laboratories is hired by Monsanto to test glyphosate. Later that year, the owner and several employees are indicted and later convicted of falsifying data for pesticide and herbicide studies.

1995 — EPA releases a glyphosate technical fact sheet warning that there is widespread exposure to glyphosate and that it could cause congestion of the lungs, increased breathing rate, kidney damage and reproductive effects, but says there is inadequate evidence of cancer.

1996 — Monsanto begins marketing “Roundup Ready” seeds that are resistant to glyphosate, urging farmers to use more of its products on these plants without fear of damaging the crops as weeds begin to become glyphosate resistant.

1996 — Monsanto is sued by the New York Attorney General for false and misleading advertising for claims that Roundup is “safer than table salt” and “practically non-toxic.” The company agrees later that year to stop using certain advertising phrases that imply that it is safe, non-toxic, or harmless in New York.

2009 — France’s highest court determines that Monsanto lied about Roundup safety, affirming a lower court’s judgment that Monsanto’s claims that the herbicide was biodegradeable and “left the soil clean” were false.

2015 — In March, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of WHO, determines that glyphsate is a probable carcinogen linked to the increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma and other lymphatic cancers.

Roundup Cancer Attorneys

Over the past year, rather than issuing a Roundup recall or taking steps to ensure that farm works, landscapers and others working with the weedkiller are protected against exposure to glyphosate, Monsanto has chosen to essentially “double down” on their marketing and is still attempting to argue that there is no link between cancer and Roundup exposure.

The attorneys at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. provide free consultations and claims evaluations for individuals and families throughout the United States to determine if financial compensation may be available as a result of a cancer diagnosis following Roundup exposure.

All Roundup cases are reviewed by our law firm on a contingency fee basis, which means that there are no out of pocket costs to hire a lawyer and we receive no attorney fees or expenses unless a recovery is obtained.

CONTACT OUR ROUNDUP LAWYERS ABOUT A CANCER DIAGNOSIS

8 Comments • Add Your Comments

  • rebecca says:

    you’re worried about the farmers in there closeness to this product and cancer not once have you mentioned the the food we eat that is produced by these roundup fed plants or yhat this ssme bullshit is being fed to the animals no wonder there sick then you turn around snd feed ys the sick animals. America is one of the sickest countries in the nation wake up!! This MONSANTO also lied about DDT agent orange and they’re lieing about the GMO… SHUT THIS COMPANY DOWN the FDA SENDS IN THE FBI TO RAID RAW ORGANIC DAIRY FARMERS LITERALLY POORS OUT ALL THE HEALTHY MILK BUT THAT SAME PIECE OF SHIT FDA / ROCKEFELLAR. ROCKEFELLAR ALSO OWNS MONSANTO… CLOSE THEM DOWN DO YOU SEE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST HERE??? JESUS CHRIST PUT THIS PIECE OF GARBAGE OUT OF BUSINESS ROCKFELLAR ALSO OWNS THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION AMD THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY ARE YOU SEEING A PROBLEM YET??? WAKE UP!!!!

    Posted on September 28, 2016 at 12:33 am

  • Connie says:

    I have used roundup for yards in my yard and gardens. In 2013 I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. I was also diagnosed again a year later. I wander if this could be from exposure through my skin.

    Posted on April 3, 2017 at 2:36 pm

  • Debra says:

    I was diagnosed with non hodge kinship lymphoma in 2003
    We have always used round up and I have a gallon container of it sitting in my basement now I just went down to read precautions and I don’t see no warning signs on it saying it may cause this?

    Posted on June 29, 2017 at 11:47 am

  • Ab says:

    Some years ago we were told to only use roundup in our horse pastures if we could keep horses off said pastures for one full year! Now me thinks the danger has been known for many years

    Posted on July 1, 2017 at 4:06 pm

  • M says:

    My husband passed away in 2008 with Burkitt’s Lymphoma. I have long since read this article and realizing he did use Roundup a fair amount around our home and was wondering if there would possibly be a case for him even though he has been gone this long……..Thank you.

    Posted on November 13, 2017 at 2:01 pm

  • Kelly says:

    My brother has recently been diagnosed with squamous cell cancer in lymph nodes in his neck . He also has multiple lung nodules Mediastinal lymph nodes suspicious for malignancy per pet/ct scan. The biopsy in his neck showed squamous cell , but that is very rarely a primary cancer, according to the Dr. I am trying to talk him into having a biopsy of at least the biggest mass in his lung to see if it can result in the kind , stage , & any other info . He worked for subcontracted tree/ power company where he sprayed round up at least 3 day’s a week for 2-3 years before becoming disabled with periphial neuropathy & would come home with his clothes soaked in it . He is only 53 year’s old 🙁 He also , according to Dr. report has severe emphesema for his age .

    Posted on January 5, 2018 at 11:48 am

  • Hope says:

    I was diagnosed w large diffuse B cell non Hodgkins in 2015. I used round up my entire life, as my parents were master gardeners. I had a tumor in my chest that was blocking my superior inacava vein (main vain that’s transfers blood back into your body) it was so miserable from the waist up I was swollen like a monster, kids literally cried when they saw me and people who knew me (cashier’s, bank tellers etc…) Did not recognize me. I had 2 doses of radiation and chop-R chemo. I got a hematoma when they put the port in so had to immediately have it removed and put back in. I saw the round up commercial and immediately called my dad (who’s sense passed away) also had the cancer and almost died then because they couldn’t figure out what was wrong as he was a male in his late 50’s and the cancer was common in males up to 28. So when I heard about it I knew it was caused from round up for the both of us. Needless to say I got in touch w some of these lawyers they said yes you definitely have a case and also my mother had one for my father as he had passed already from pancreatic cancer. Time goes on about 6 mos.

    Posted on August 10, 2018 at 2:55 am

  • Steven says:

    I had been exposed to Roundup for many years as a regular consumer, spraying my weeds when needed, but I was particularly exposed from April through December of 2009 while living in the backyard guest house on a family friend’s property. The owner of the property was constantly spraying massive doses of Roundup on his expansive yard, which featured a lawn and many trees. My wife and I were forced to breathe the strong fumes on a daily basis. It permeated the air for long periods of time.

    In September 2011, I began to notice a big lump in my lymph nodes on the left side of my neck. I was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer in the lymph nodes of my neck in October 2011, which spread to my vocal cords. My surgeon removed a cancerous polyp from my vocal cords and I was treated with 40 rounds of radiation on my neck and throat, along with 7 rounds of chemotherapy. I was never given a cause or reason for getting this cancer and the treatment, while getting rid of the cancer, left me with a speaking voice that has made finding a good job next to impossible, as I am very hard to understand when speaking.

    Posted on August 12, 2019 at 4:07 pm

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