EPA and HHS sign agreement to expand glyphosate review as decision slips to 2027

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services signed an agreement on Sept. 22 to coordinate scientific work on glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup, as the EPA reviews whether the herbicide should stay registered for use, according to the EPA’s announcement.

The memorandum of understanding creates a joint technical working group. It pairs the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs with six HHS components: the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Toxicology Program, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. The agencies will exchange scientific information, identify research gaps and expand research into possible human health effects, Global Agriculture reported.

Four areas are named in the agreement: the toxicology of glyphosate formulations and surfactants, occupational epidemiology, human exposure and biomonitoring, and dietary exposure. Working group materials will be posted to a public docket, EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0361.

What the agreement does not do

The EPA keeps sole authority over registration decisions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, and the agreement gives neither agency new powers. The document states that it does not predetermine or direct the outcome of the registration review.

The timeline has moved. Global Agriculture reported that the target for completing the review shifted from late 2026 to early 2027, which it tied to the expanded scientific coordination. The public comment period on glyphosate’s human health hazard assessment closed Sept. 24, DTN Progressive Farmer reported.

What officials said

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agreement “gives our scientists access to research capacity at HHS that addresses potential gaps in the record.” DTN quoted him saying: “FIFRA requires us to reexamine registered pesticides on a recurring cycle against the best available science and that is exactly what we are doing with glyphosate.”

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said: “Americans have a right to know what the best science tells us about the chemicals they encounter in their food, workplaces, and environment.” Kennedy has long criticized pesticides, according to The New Lede.

Reaction

Michael Baum, a California attorney who has litigated against Monsanto, told The New Lede: “This much-needed coordinated analysis fills dangerous gaps in the regulatory oversight of Roundup.”

Bill Freese of the Center for Food Safety questioned the approach. He told The New Lede that the EPA has historically excluded 78% of thousands of studies as “not relevant,” prioritizing industry-submitted data over peer-reviewed research.

Background

Glyphosate has been registered in the United States since 1974, according to Global Agriculture. A 2015 World Health Organization finding classified it as “probably” carcinogenic, The New Lede reported. In 2022 the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the EPA’s 2020 assessment was flawed and required the agency to consider the evidence further. Bayer, which acquired glyphosate’s original manufacturer Monsanto, continues to defend the chemical’s safety while facing billions of dollars in litigation settlements, The New Lede reported.

The EPA release does not mention Bayer, Roundup or any court proceedings.