Glyphosate Profile

Glyphosate Profile

QUICK SUMMARY

  • A synthetic herbicide widely used in agriculture, forestry, industrial sites, and aquatic environments
  • Associated cancers: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (limited evidence)
  • Most important routes of exposure: Inhalation, skin contact, and ingestion
  • Uses: Kills grasses, annual and perennial plants, vines, shrubs, and trees; many crops such as soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola have been genetically engineered to resist glyphosate
  • Occupational exposures: An estimated 38,000 to 56,000 workers are exposed to glyphosate in the agricultural sector
  • Environmental exposures: Over 2 million people in Canada live in areas with higher potential for glyphosate exposure
  • Fast fact: Glyphosate is the most widely sold and applied pesticide in Canada.

General Information

Glyphosate is a non-selective organophosphate herbicide widely used in agriculture, forestry, industrial sites (such as rail corridors or transmission lines), and aquatic environments.[1] The use of this herbicide dramatically increased when crops such as soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola were genetically engineered to resist glyphosate.[2] It is the most widely sold and applied pesticide in Canada.[3]

Glyphosate is a colourless, odourless, crystalline solid, also known as gliphosate, glyphosate hydrochloride, or N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine.[2] Glyphosate formulations are typically prepared with the isopropylamine salt of glyphosate, a surfactant (to help it penetrate plants), and other chemicals.[4] As of 2016, there are 194 products listed with glyphosate as an active ingredient registered with the Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA).[5] Of these, 39 are registered for domestic use. The trade names that glyphosate is sold under include: Round-Up®, Rodeo®, Xtreme®, ByeBye Weed®, TotalEx®, Wipe Out®.[5]

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A) in its 2015 assessment of the carcinogenicity of five organophosphate pesticides.[6] There was limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which came from a number of studies published since 2001. There was sufficient evidence that glyphosate can cause cancer in laboratory animals. IARC also evaluated mechanistic studies and cited evidence of genotoxicity and oxidative stress associated with glyphosate exposure.[6] In response to this new classification, Health Canada has proposed additional labeling protocols for products containing glyphosate.[7] Monsanto, the leading producer of glyphosate herbicide products, has publicly disagreed with this new classification.[8] Overall, the carcinogenicity of glyphosate is an area of ongoing assessment and debate; a number of hazard or risk assessments are currently underway or were recently completed by regulatory bodies, including the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and US EPA.[9,10]

The short-term consequences of ingesting glyphosate formulations are generally mild, transient gastrointestinal effects.[4] Ingesting large amounts of glyphosate formulations (>85 mL) can corrode the gastrointestinal system and cause impairments to the heart, kidneys, and liver. Respiratory distress, unconsciousness, and shock may also result.[4] Dermal or eye exposure to glyphosate formulations can cause irritations. Inhaling spray mist may cause oral or nasal discomfort, tingling, and throat irritation.[4]

Regulations and Guidelines

Occupational Exposure Limits (OEL)

No occupational exposure limits were located for glyphosate in Canada or any other international jurisdiction.[11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25]

Canadian environmental guidelines and standards*

Jurisdiction Limit Year
Canada’s Drinking Water Guidelines MAC = 0.28 mg/L 1987, 2005[26,27]
Manitoba’s Drinking Water Guidelines  MAC = 0.28 mg/L 2011[28]
Quebec’s Regulation Respecting the Quality of Drinking Water MAC = 0.21 mg/L 2015[29]
British Columbia’s Contaminated Sites Regulation Soil standards:
Agricultural and low density residential sites: 1.5 mg/g
Urban park and high density residential sites: 3.0 mg/g
Commercial and industrial sites: 25 mg/g
Drinking water standards: 0.28 mg/g
2017[30]
Health Canada’s Maximum Residue
Limits for Foods
Food type:
Lentils: 4 ppm
Milk and eggs: 0.08 ppm
Meat (beef, poultry, goat, pork): 0.08 ppm
Oats: 15 ppm
Canola: 20 ppm
Corn: 3 ppm
Wheat: 5 ppm
2015[31]
WHO’s Drinking Water Guideline Glyphosate: “Occurs in drinking water at
concentrations well below those of health concern”
2011[32]
National Classification System for Contaminated Sites Rank: “Medium hazard” 2008[33]
ppm = parts per million
MAC = maximum allowable concentration
*Standards are legislated and legally enforceable, while guidelines (including Ontario ambient air quality criteria) describe concentrations of contaminants in the environment (e.g. air, water) that are protective against adverse health, environmental, or aesthetic (e.g. odour) effects

Glyphosate was not included in other Canadian government guidelines, standards, or chemical listings reviewed.

Canadian legal status[34]

Jurisdiction Legislation Title Notes
Federal Pest Control Products Act, SC, 2002, c 28 Not included
Pest Control Products Regulations, SOR/2006-124 Not included
Provincial/Territorial    
NL, NT, NU, PE, QC, SK, YT Multiple titles Not included
AB Environmental Code of Practice for Pesticides under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, RSA 2000, cE-12 Glyphosate application is restricted to specific application methods, target weeds, distance from bodies of water, and amount of area treated
BC Integrated Pest Management Regulation, BC Reg 604/2004 Glyphosate application is restricted to specific application methods, target weeds, distance from bodies of water, and amount of area treated
MB Non-Essential Pesticide Use Regulation, Man Reg 285/2014 Glyphosate is not allowed for domestic/cosmetic use
NB Pesticides Control Act, RSNB 2011, c 203 (replaced: Pesticides Control Act, RSNB 1973, c P-8) Glyphosate is not allowed for domestic/cosmetic use
NS List of Allowable Pesticides Regulations, NS Reg 181/2010 Glyphosate is not allowed for domestic/cosmetic use
ON Pesticides Act, RSO 1990, c P. 11, as amended by the Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act, 2008, S.O. 2008, c. 11 – Bill 64 Glyphosate is not allowed for domestic/cosmetic use

Several provincial, territorial, and municipal governments have passed laws to reduce the risks that pesticide products pose to human health and the environment. In the case of glyphosate, this includes restrictions on sales, production, or trade.[35,36] Although several provinces and one territory have implemented some form of cosmetic pesticide policy (QC, 2003; NB, 2009; ON, 2009; AB, 2010; PEI, 2010; NS, 2010; NL, 2012; YK 1994), only the Ontario and Nova Scotia legislation is considered strong enough to significantly reduce cosmetic pesticide exposure.[36] For example, Ontario’s Cosmetic Pesticide Ban Act, which has the most comprehensive restrictions on lawn and garden pesticides in North America, prohibits the use of over 250 pesticide products and over 95 pesticide ingredients, including glyphosate, for cosmetic use.[37]

Main Uses

The herbicidal activity of glyphosate was discovered in 1970, first commercialized by Monsanto in 1974, and registered for use in Canada in 1976.[27] It is currently one of the most widely used herbicides in Canada for agricultural, domestic, forestry, and commercial applications.[5] A number of plants have been genetically engineered to be unaffected by glyphosate, including soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola.[38] Glyphosate is widely used in the agricultural sector in Canada[3], but also within forestry, industrial weed control, lawn and gardens, and aquatic environments.[1]

Since the PMRA began tracking the sales of pesticides in Canada in 2006, the use of glyphosate has consistently increased. This is primarily due to the increased use of glyphosate-tolerant crops, zero tillage practices (in which the crop is sown directly into soil that has not been tilled since the harvest of the previous crop, to minimize erosion and maximize soil biodiversity), expanded acreage of glyphosate-tolerant corn and canola, and blueberry production.[3,39] Given that glyphosate application is widespread and it is solely used for weed control, weed-resistance is increasingly becoming an issue in many countries.[40] Giant ragweed is one example of a glyphosate-resistant weed, which was first documented in Canada in 2009.[41]

Examples of glyphosate use in Canada include:[42]

 

  • Agricultural: to control weed growth on fence rows, in storage areas, next to glyphosate-tolerant crops, along irrigation canals, and on fallow or non-producing acreage; for minimum and no-tillage farming practices; to renovate pastures; and to remove ground vegetation from fruit orchards.
  • Forestry: to remove ground vegetation of deciduous trees, shrubs, and vegetation from conifer forests and tree planting operations.
  • Industrial/commercial: to landscape highways, roadsides, railroad right-of-ways, warehouses, storage areas, public waterways, golf courses, cemeteries, and campus grounds.
  • Residential: to eradicate poison ivy, poison oak, vines, and perennial weeds from patios, pavements, driveways, rock gardens, and other locations.

Canadian Production and Trade

​According to the Reporting Regulations for Pest Control Products Sales Information that came into force in November 2006, all pesticides sold and used in Canada must be registered with Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA).[43]

The PMRA conducted a re-evaluation of glyphosate in 2015, and granted continued registration of glyphosate-containing products, with updates to product labels to provide additional guidance on safe use for human health and the environment.[44]

Since 2007, glyphosate has consistently had the highest sales volume of all pesticides sold in Canada, with over 25,000,000 kg of active ingredients (kg a.i.) sold per year.[3,45] In 2017, over 50,000,000 kg a.i. were sold in Canada.[46] These sales were primarily within the agricultural sector, where glyphosate was ranked as having the highest sales volume of kg a.i. of herbicide. It was not among the top 10 active ingredients sold within the non-agricultural or domestic sector except for in 2007-2008, when it was ranked number 10 for the domestic sector.[45] The global consumption of glyphosate in 2011 was estimated at 650,000,000 kg a.i. per year and increasing.[47]

Sales data for provinces and territories are limited. Most recent data are as follows.

Pesticide sales by jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Amount sold* (kg a.i.) Year
Canada >25,000,000 2021[45]
Alberta 8,370,396 2018[48]
Ontario 2,062,648 2008[49]
Quebec 1,888,530 2019[50]
British Columbia 250,505 2015[39]
kg a.i. = kilograms of active ingredient
* Includes total sales within all sectors for BC, AB, and QC, and use data in only th agricultural sector for ON.

Environmental Exposures

The general population is exposed to glyphosate through their diet, domestic application, direct skin contact, or inhalation during pesticide application.[5,51] Glyphosate mists can contaminate air and soil as they are applied and transported into neighbouring residential areas by the wind.[52,53]

CAREX Canada estimates that over 2 million people in Canada live in areas where the potential for exposure to glyphosate is higher than other areas in the country, which amounts to about 6% of the Canadian population. Since people residing near agricultural land may have higher pesticide exposures than those who live in non-agricultural areas due to their geographical proximity to areas with high pesticide usage, these estimates focus on community exposure related to agricultural pesticide use.[54,55] In addition, data availability for other routes of exposure (e.g. diet, domestic application) are limited.

As expected, exposure varies based on agricultural activity and the types of crops grown. Quebec had the largest number of people with higher potential for exposure (1.31 million people). Manitoba and Saskatchewan also had above average potential exposure for a large proportion of their population. As expected, provinces or areas were agriculture is less intensive have much lower estimated exposures.

In the environment, glyphosate binds tightly to soil, where it is eventually broken down by microbes. The half-life of glyphosate in the soil is an average of 47 days, but varies greatly depending on local conditions.[49] Glyphosate is considered low risk of contaminating groundwater due to its strong absorptive properties; however it can contaminate surface waters through aquatic use (i.e. where it is applied to control aquatic weeds), spills, and soil erosion.[56,57]

A Canadian National Water Quality Surveillance Program conducted in 2003-2005 found concentrations of glyphosate as high as 9,000 nanograms per litre (ng/L) in runoff water and 13,000 ng/L in surface water in the Lower Fraser Valley in BC.[58] These levels are well below the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) for the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality of 280,000 ng/L and the Canadian Council of Ministers for the Environment (CCME) Water Quality Guideline of 65,000 ng/L. Glyphosate was not detected in appreciable amounts in any of the other provinces tested.[58]

Occupational Exposures

The main routes of occupational exposure are dermal contact and inhalation.[59]

CAREX Canada estimates that between 38,000 and 56,000 Canadian workers are exposed to glyphosate in the agricultural sector. The majority of pesticides sold in Canada are used in agricultural (70% of active ingredients sold, by weight). For this reason, these exposure estimates focus on workers in the agricultural industry. Exposure among these workers occurs during the mixing, loading, and application of glyphosate, but many more may be exposed during other, farm-related activities through dermal contact with treated crops. Farm types with the largest number of exposed workers are other grain farming, oilseed farming, and dairy cattle and milk production (where glyphosate is applied on crops that are grown to feed livestock).

For more information, see the occupational exposure estimate for glyphosate.

Workers in industries other than agriculture (e.g. utilities, forestry) may also be at risk of exposure to glyphosate.[44,60]

Sources

1. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). R.E.D. FACTS: Glyphosate (1993) (PDF)
2. Weed Science Society of America. Herbicide Handbook, 8th Ed. (2002)
4. Bradberry SM, Proudfoot AT, Vale JA. “Glyphosate poisoning”. Toxicol Rev 2004;23:159-167.
5. Health Canada. Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA)’s Pesticide Label Search (Search term: glyphosate, accessed January 2016)
6. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Monograph Volume 112: Some organophosphate insecticides and herbicides. (2017)
9. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Glyphosate: EFSA updates toxicological profile (2015)
10. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Glyphosate (2015)
15. Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Regulation 5,12 Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (2012)
16. Government of the Northwest Territories. Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, R-039-2015 (2016) (PDF)
18. The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII). Government of Nunavut’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, Nu Reg 003-2016 (2010)
20. Government of Prince Edward Island. Occupational Health and Safety Act Regulations Chapter 0-1 (2013) (PDF)
23. The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII). Yukon’s Occupational Health Regulations, O.I.C. 1986/164 (2012) (PDF)
24. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Annotated PELs (2018)
28. Government of Manitoba, Manitoba Water Stewardship. Manitoba Water Quality Standards, Objectives, and Guidelines (2011) (PDF)
29. The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII). Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water, CQLR c Q-2, r 40 (2020)
30. Government of British Columbia. Contaminated Sites Regulation B.C. Reg. 375/96 (2021)
33. Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. National Classification System for Contaminated Sites (PDF) (2008)
34. The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII). Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) website (2015)
37. Government of Ontario. Pesticides Act (2015)
39. BC Ministry of Environment. 2015 Pesticide Sales in British Columbia (2015) (PDF)
42. Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life: Glyphosate (2012)
48. Environment Alberta. Overview of 2018 pesticide sales in Alberta (2020) (PDF)
51. Acquavella JF, Alexander BH, Mandel JS,  Gustin C,Baker B, Chapman P, Bleeke M. “Glyphosate biomonitoring for farmers and their families: Results from the farm family exposure study.” Environ Health Perspect 2004;112:321-326.
52. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Spray Drift of Pesticides. (1999).
53. Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life: Glyphosate (2012)
55. Ward MH, Lubin J, Giglierano J, Colt JS, Wolter C, Bekiroglu N, et al. “Proximity to crops and residential exposure to agricultural herbicides in Iowa.” Environ Health Perspect 2006;114:893-897.
56. Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life: Glyphosate (2012)
57. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). R.E.D. FACTS: Glyphosate (1993) (PDF)
59. National Pesticide Information Centre (NPIC). Glyphosate General Fact Sheet (2010) (PDF)
60. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Forest Service: Glyphosate – Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment (2011) (PDF)

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