Claim alleges farmers were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after using Roundup

EXCERPT: “There’s some pretty active litigation in California, so we brought the class-action here on behalf of all individuals who have contracted the non-Hodgkin lymphoma through the use of Roundup,” [lawyer Raymond] Wagner said.
---

Farmers sue Monsanto, Bayer over use of Roundup pesticide

Nicole Munro
The Chronicle Herald, 6 Jul 2019
https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/local/lawsuit-filed-against-chemical-giants-330286/

Two farmers have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Monsanto and Bayer on the use of Roundup, a commonly-used weed killer.

The action was filed Thursday by Halifax law firm Wagners on behalf of proposed representative plaintiffs David Mitchell and Gretta Hutton.

The claim alleges Mitchell and Hutton were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after using Roundup.

Roundup is a glyphosate-based herbicide made by Bayer-owned agrochemical giant Monsanto.

Mitchell, now in Margaree, had worked at multiple farms in Canada and used the herbicide for years.

Hutton, who is from Ontario, bought a farm and used Roundup as a defoliant herbicide without any warning to use protective gear.

“There is some competing notions with respect to the safety of glyphosates and Roundup with respect to unprotected use,” lawyer Raymond Wagner said Friday.

Wagner filed the proposed class-action lawsuit with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court after two class actions, in Saskatchewan and Quebec, were filed against Monsanto and Bayer in May.

There are more than 13,000 lawsuits in the U.S. against Monsanto and Bayer.

“There’s some pretty active litigation in California, so we brought the class-action here on behalf of all individuals who have contracted the non-Hodgkin lymphoma through the use of Roundup,” Wagner said.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization released a report in 2015, indicating glyphosate is most likely carcinogenic to humans, and is linked to an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The lawyer said multiple studies have linked Roundup and glyphosates and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but Health Canada hasn’t said there’s a connection.

“There’s also a serious issue, and this is really the head of the iceberg, of glyphosates and the environment,” Wagner said.

“Glyphosates don’t disappear, so when you use them in commercial, residential or otherwise, it stays in the environment, so this is a serious environmental issue.”

Wagner said the national class-action will aim to “compensate individuals who have been harmed by the failure to warn of the potential harmful effects of the unprotected use of Roundup”.

“Regulators need the studies to make a proper decision in respect to what the warnings are, protecting human health and what the impact is having on the environment for our future generations,” he said.

Bayer Canada did not respond to request for comment by deadline.