By Paul Carton
In light of the recent ruling by a California judge who found Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup, responsible for causing cancer in school groundskeeper Dewayne ‘Lee’ Johnson, the Dublin City Council (DCC) have informed NewsFour that it will continue to use the herbicide despite being pressed on concerns over its safety since the ruling.
The plaintiff Dewayne ‘Lee’ Johnson said he sprayed the weedkiller about 30 times a year but that it was when he accidently got soaked in the stuff he claims to be the reason that two years later he was diagnosed with cancer.
Concerns of Roundup’s safety was a hotly debated topic in the council chambers across the county of Dublin last year after a report from the World Health Organization found it to be ‘probably carcinogenic’. The South Dublin County Council (SDCC) was the only council to pass a motion to ban its use. However the SDCC have said in the media recently that they still use the herbicide ‘on occasion’ especially when dealing with Japanese Knotweed. When Roundup’s temporary license was up for renewal last December the EU renewed its license for another 5 years but nine member states have banned its use in their environs.
Monsanto said they will appeal the decision but lawyers representing the plaintiff have stated that there is another 4000 cases just like this one coming down the line. Monsanto have recently merged with Bayer AG, the German drug and chemical giant, giving a frightening amount of influence and dominance to this mega corporation in the world’s food supply chain. Now that Bayer has acquired Monsanto’s products they are now in a position to defend against these lawsuits. Bayer believes the US courts will overturn the case of the groundskeeper and they will be able to remove it from California’s list of banned chemicals.
