Washington, D.C. – Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy requesting transcribed interviews with four EPA employees to better understand the process the EPA is using to evaluate the chemical glyphosate.
In April, the EPA posted what appeared to be the final risk assessment for glyphosate prepared by the Cancer Assessment Review Committee (CARC). EPA subsequently removed the report from its website stating it was posted “inadvertently.” The report was clearly marked as “Final Report” and signed by the thirteen members of CARC. The CARC report found that glyphosate was not likely to be carcinogenic.
In March of 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) also conducted an evaluation of glyphosate. EPA sent officials to participate in conducting the IARC study. In contrast to the CARC report, the IARC report found that glyphosate was harmful to humans. In several instances, the CARC report appears to dispute the findings of the IARC report.
“Given the apparent contradictions of the CARC and IARC findings for glyphosate and the participation of EPA officials in IARC’s report, the Committee has concerns about the integrity of the IARC process, the role played by agency officials in the IARC study, and the influence that EPA officials involved in the IARC process have on the agency’s analysis of glyphosate,” the letter states.
In today’s letter Chairman Smith also reiterated his request for all documents and communications referring or relating to the CARC report on glyphosate, as outlined in a letter dated May 4th.
The full letter can be found HERE.