怀孕期间接触草甘膦可能会对您的孙子女造成健康损害 Exposure to Roundup/glyphosate during pregnancy can cause health damage to your grandchildren

Exposure to Roundup/glyphosate during pregnancy can cause health damage to your grandchildren

Glyphosate a main ingredient for the most commonly used herbicide Roundup causes health damage in a few generations of rats after pregnant rats are exposed to this chemical, according to a new study conducted by Washington State University researchers and released in the journal Scientific Reports in April,2019.

Dr. Michael Skinner and colleagues found the second and third generation offspring of rats from pregnant rats that were exposed to the glyphosate based weed killer had many health problems including prostate, kidney, and ovarian diseases, obesity, and birth abnormalities even though the mothers and the first generation offspring did not suffer any apparent health issue.

For the study, the researchers exposed pregnant rats to the herbicide between their eighth and 14th days of gestation.  The dose was half the amount expected to result in no adverse effect.  Indeed, the mothers and the first generation did not suffer any ill effects.

However, according to the study report, the second and third generations experienced drastic increases in several pathologies.  In the second generation, a significant increase was found in testis, ovary and mammary gland (breast in humans) disease, and obesity.

In the third generation of male rats, the risk of prostate disease increased by 30% which was three times as high as that of a control population.  In the third generation of female rats, the risk of kidney disease increased by 40% which was four times as that of the control population.

In the second generation of female rats, more than one third had unsuccessful pregnancies with most those dying.  In the third generation, two out of five males and females developed obesity.

This phenomenon – generational toxicology as Dr. Skinner calls it has been observed over the years in fungicides, pesticides, jet fuel, insect repellant DEET and herbicide Atrazine, and bisphenol A, which is a plastic conditioner in soft plastics.  In other words, glyphosate acts in a similar way to these chemicals.

A University of Washington study released in February 2019 found glyphosate increased the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma by up to 41 percent.  Another study published by Washington State University researchers in December 2018 found state residents living near areas treated with the herbicide were 30% more than to die an early death from Parkinson’s disease.

The generational toxicology has never been considered when a toxic chemical is developed, produced and sold to the Agricultural Industry.  Skinner and colleagues said this should be considered when the toxicity is evaluated.

“The ability of glyphosate and other environmental toxicants to impact our future generations needs to be considered,” they say in their report, “and is potentially as important as the direct exposure toxicology done today for risk assessment.” (Dr. Lu)