HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0491.058 2020-2022 i« 4(
COMMMI
From: Blake Watson COUNTY OF HAWAI,
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2021 10:05 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Testimony in support of Bill 91
Aloha Committee on Climate and Natural Resource Management,
This measure,to ban Glyphosate in Hawaii County Parks, is the very easiest first step for the County of Hawaii to move away
from using this dangerous chemical. Please see the sections at the bottom of this testimony for detailed explanations as to
dangers posed by usage of Glyphosate products.
The opposition to this bill might tell the council that using synthetic herbicides-and especially Glyphosate-is an important part
of combating climate change because"we will need to be burning less fossil fuel to mow weeds",without conceding that the
continuous cycle of killing of soil and plant biota that this chemical and its "inert"adjuvants causes is harming the natural
mechanisms that sequester carbon safely into the soil.Creating dead zones of sicker and sicker land isn't the answer for
mitigating climate change within land management systems.The answer to this question is in a paradigm shift in our thinking
about how we manage land.What's a better place than the county parks to first make this shift? Here we have a nexus of
factors: 1)The parks are the areas of land that the county maintains that are the most pressing to address Glyphosate from a
children's health perspective(roads being a close second). 2)The size of the county parks system in total is at a manageable
scale to begin using methods of weed management that will undoubtedly eventually need to be scaled up as we move to
phase out synthetic herbicides more broadly-and most especially Glyphosate-on the scale of all public spaces.
Several parks along Keaukaha have demonstrated for years that Glyphosate is not needed and that in fact letting natural
groundcovers hold the soil and thereby dispense the need of high levels of maintenance along edges of lawns is not only a cost
savings for the county, it is also important for preventing erosion in our increasingly unpredictable climate.With all the talk
about how we need to change the way we think about land management it looks as though the county has already been doing
this in pockets for a while now. Another example is at Isaac Hale beach park:Some years ago, before the 2018 eruption, the
local organization Greener Hawaii removed clumps of guinea grass on a hillside behind the bathrooms and replaced it with a
ground cloth to prevent guinea grass seedlings and planted flowers.Another prime method that could easily be employed at
parks is using a Weedsteam machine to kill roots and do edging along pavement and gravel.
The Hawaii Department of Education already has voted,as a matter of policy,to ban Glyphosate(and all synthetic herbicides)
from all public schools.While this is a win for protecting the health of children, HDOE must ultimately follow state law;this
policy can legally be changed at the whim of a future board at the HDOE. Similarly, a policy at Hawaii County for county lands
that's not based on ordinance can easily be overturned by a subsequent administration-which is why it is true that the only
long-term solution to addressing Glyphosate usage at county parks is by ordinance and not resolution. We have a long history
of promises, policies,and resolutions in response to public pressure and previous bill attempts playing out in fits and starts and
stops to look back upon.
Nothing in this bill prevents the county from engaging local help and expertise in land care, as local knowledge is often the best
knowledge,and local organizations like Greener Hawaii have demonstrated an island wide community willingness to help with
moving our parks away from Glyphosate,and those efforts have proven that maintenance of parks across this island without
the use of Glyphosate is not only possible-it's preferable. Beyond Pesticides is another organization already in the mode of
providing support to Hawaii County with transitioning out of Glyphosate and other synthetics more broadly.Again,so far these
efforts have been made only through policy, resolution,and other agreements and as such are not consistent and permanent.
And this is why we need this actual, legal commitment by ordinance to transition away from Glyphosate. I'm fairly certain that
the community is weary of pedaling in place for over a decade on this issue, and this bill will actually move us forward into a
safer future.Thank you for supporting bill 91. Comm. No. IAl• _
Ref. To:
1 Ref. tete NOV 1 7 W I
Blake Watson
Beyond Pesticides, Hawaii Island coordinator
The dangers of Glyphosate products
Glyphosate,which has been mistakenly characterized as a relatively innocuous herbicide and is now known to pose multiple
dangers to human health and the environment,demonstrates the failure of the risk assessment paradigm for regulating toxic
chemicals and the dangers of ignoring the importance of microbiota.
Glyphosate (N-phosphono-methyl glycine)is a broad spectrum, post-emergent, non-selective systemic herbicide used on non-
cropland,as well as a variety of crops. It has seen the largest use in crops that are genetically engineered to be tolerant to it,
where it kills most grassy and broadleaved plants. Glyphosate products, such as Monsanto's Roundup,are formulated with
surfactants and other ingredients to increase its effectiveness. Glyphosate's major metabolite is aminomethyl phosphonic acid
(AMPA).
Glyphosate is translocated to meristematic tissues in the plant(where active cell division occurs.)There it blocks the activity of
the enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase(EPSPS),a key enzyme in the shikimate pathway of production of
aromatic amino acids, ultimately leading to the plant's death by starvation.l Since animals do not use the shikimate pathway,
the manufacturer of glyphosate (Monsanto) claims it is"safe"for humans. However,this safety claim ignores glyphosate's
adverse effect on beneficial bacteria essential to human health.
EPA classifies glyphosate as a Group E carcinogen—evidence of non-carcinogenicity for humans—based on the lack of
convincing evidence of carcinogenicity in studies submitted to the agency by Monsanto. However, contrary to EPA's finding of
evidence of non-carcinogenicity, epidemiological studies have found a positive association between exposure to glyphosate-
based herbicides and cancer. On March
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y . . _._.__. ._.. - YP /
Industry Task Force on Glyphosate, 2017. Glyphosate: mechanism of action. http://Www.glyphosate.eu glyphosate-
mechanism-action.
20, 2015,the International Agency for Research on Cancer(IARC)announced that it had classified glyphosate as a class 2A
carcinogen,as "probably carcinogenic to humans."j-11This category is the most definitive of any based on standard laboratory
animal testing.
Problems with risk assessment
EPA's risk assessment of glyphosate is based on direct effects of the active ingredient alone,as demonstrated in laboratory
tests.The chemical must demonstrate a toxic effect that is related to the dose received.When this model is applied to
glyphosate, it fails to identify the most important impacts of glyphosate as it is used.The first problem is that glyphosate is not
used alone.
"Inert" ingredients in glyphosate products
A number of surfactants and other ingredients are added to glyphosate products to make them more effective as herbicides,
including 5-chloro-2-methyl 3(2H)-isothiazolone, FD&C Blue No. 1,glycerine, 3-iodo-2-propynyl butyl carbamate, light aromatic
petroleum distillate, methyl p-hydroxybenzoate, polyoxyethylene alkylamine, propylene glycol,sodium sulfite,sodium
benzoate, sodium salt of o-phenylphenol,and sorbic acid. Health effects that are associated with these so-called "inert" (non-
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disclosed) ingredients include genetic damage, reduced fertility,thyroid damage,eye irritation, anemia, reduced survival of
offspring,and skin irritation.m Polyethoxylated tallowamine or POEA—a surfactant used in Roundup and other herbicidal
products—has been identified as particularly toxic.
Hazards of glyphosate products
In contrast to the results of the manufacturer's tests of glyphosate alone,an increasing number of studies have found that
formulated glyphosate products (e.g., Roundup)are more toxic than glyphosate alone. Symptoms following acute exposure to
glyphosate formulations include:swollen eyes,face and joints;facial numbness; burning and/or itching skin; blisters; rapid
heart rate;elevated blood pressure;chest pains, congestion;coughing; headache;and nausea.141 Glyphosate and its formulated
products adversely affect embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells, and affect fetal development.12 Chronic exposure to
glyphosate-based herbicides can result in significant liver and kidney damage.0
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Li1 IARC, 2016. IARC Monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risk to man. Lyon :International Agency for Research on
Cancer,volume 112. Some Organophosphate Insecticides and Herbicides:Glyphosate.
http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/voII12/monoll2-10 pdf.
L'1 Caroline Cox, 2004. Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides Factsheet: Glyphosate.
J31Tsui, M., &Chu, L. 2003.Aquatic toxicity of glyphosate-based formulations: comparison between different organisms and
the effects of environmental factors. Chemosphere.,52(7), 1189-1197.
Lt Caroline Cox, 2004. Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides Factsheet: Glyphosate.
12 Paganelli,A., Gnazzo,V.,Acosta, H., Lopez,S.L. and Carrasco,A.E., 2010. Glyphosate-based herbicides produce teratogenic
effects on vertebrates by impairing retinoic acid signaling. Chemical research in toxicology,23(10), pp.1586-1595.
u Mesnage, R.,Arno, M.,Costanzo, M., Malatesta, M., Seralini,G.E. and Antoniou, M.N., 2015.Transcriptome profile analysis
reflects rat liver and kidney damage following chronic ultra-low dose Roundup exposure. Environmental Health,14(1), p.70.
Human cell endocrine disruption has also been observed to occur at concentrations well below those considered "acceptable,"
including disruption at the androgen receptor, inhibition of transcriptional activities on estrogen receptors on HepG2,
decreased aromatase activity, DNA damage,and cytotoxic effects.l
New science and glyphosate
Besides looking at the total formulation in addition to the active ingredient, newer scientific studies have looked in greater
depth at glyphosate's mode of action and the implications for human and ecological health. Glyphosate works by disrupting a
crucial pathway for manufacturing aromatic amino acids in plants–but not animals— and,therefore, many have assumed that
it does not harm humans. However, many bacteria do use the shikimate pathway,and 90%of the cells in a human body are
bacteria.The destruction of beneficial microbiota in the human gut(and elsewhere in and on the human body) is,therefore,a
cause for concern–and a major contributor to disease. In addition,the destruction of soil microbiota leads to unhealthy
agricultural systems with an increasing dependence on agricultural chemicals. Looking even deeper at the mode of action of
glyphosate,other scientists have found that it starves and sickens the very crop plants that it is supposed to protect.
It is dangerous to base the review of chemicals on the assumption that microbiota is irrelevant to assessing dangers.While it is
well known that taking a course of antibiotics disturbs microbes that help digest food, disturbing the microbiota has greater
consequences than a bout of diarrhea. It can contribute to a whole host of"215t century diseases," including diabetes,obesity,
food allergies, heart disease,antibiotic-resistant infections, cancer, asthma,autism, irritable bowel syndrome, multiple
sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis,celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and more.
Antibiotic Resistance
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The spread of antibiotic resistance is a health care crisis of major proportions.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) call it"one of the world's most pressing public health problems."21 Many bacterial infections are becoming resistant to
the most commonly prescribed antibiotics, resulting in longer-lasting infections, higher medical expenses,the need for more
expensive or hazardous medications,and the inability to treat life-threatening infections. The development and spread of
Gasnier,C.,et al 2008. Glyphosate based herbicides are toxic and endocrine disruptors in human cell lines. Toxicology,
doi:10.1016/j.tox.2009.06.006. Defarge, N.,Takacs, E., Lozano,V.L., Mesnage, R., Spiroux de Vend6mois,J.,Seralini,G.E. and
Szekacs,A., 2016. Co-formulants in glyphosate-based herbicides disrupt aromatase activity in human cells below toxic levels.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(3), p.264.
M CDC, "Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work." htt : /www.cdc.Rov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/fast-facts.htmi.
antibiotic resistance is the inevitable effect of the use of antibiotics. Bacteria evolve quickly,and antibiotics provide strong
selection pressure for those strains with genes for resistance.
With the explosion of antibiotic resistance in the U.S. and worldwide,antibiotic use in crop and livestock production is
a major public health issue. Use of antibiotics like glyphosate in agriculture allows residues of antibiotics and antibiotic-
resistant bacteria to emerge on agricultural lands, move through the environment, contaminate waterways,and ultimately
reach consumers in food. Both the human gut and contaminated waterways provide incubators for antibiotic resistance.
In addition to the promotion of weed resistance by widespread application of glyphosate and use of glyphosate-
resistant genes in agriculture,there is evidence that glyphosate at levels used in agriculture results in bacterial resistance to
antibiotics important in fighting human pathogens and infections. As EPA stated for another antibiotic, if"bacterial resistance
to oxytetracycline from pesticidal use occurs, it is most likely that it would be caused by development of resistance from non-
pathogenic bacteria in orchards which later transferred their resistance to human bacterial pathogens."U,Therefore, EPA risk
assessments based on toxic effects in animal and human models is inadequate for determining and managing the risk of
antibiotic resistance promoted by glyphosate use.
Ecological impacts
In addition to recent science showing the much greater toxicity of glyphosate products than the technical active ingredient to
aquatic and semi-aquatic organisms, an important finding is that glyphosate-tolerant plants release glyphosate into the soil,
where it has a continued impact. Glyphosate is also released to the soil by dead plants. "Once in soil,glyphosate may be
adsorbed onto soil particles,degraded by microbes,or transferred to deeper soil horizons, migrating via soil pores or root
canals. However,some agricultural practices,such as phosphorous amendment, may re-solubilize glyphosate in soils, making it
available for leaching and to the rhizosphere of non-target plants."ll Glyphosate adsorbed to soil particles may move in wind
or water,affecting organisms off the target field. Its use in agriculture has had a significant impact on monarch butterfly
populations through the reduction of
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Thomas F O'Brien, 2002 Emergence,Spread,and Environmental Effect of Antimicrobial Resistance: How Use of an
Antimicrobial Anywhere Can Increase Resistance to Any Antimicrobial Anywhere Else,Clinical Infectious Diseases 2002;
34(Suppl 3):578-84.
u See GMOs, Glyphosate, and Antibiotic Resistance below.
M USEPA. 2006. "Report of the Food Quality Protection Act(FQPA)tolerance reassessment progress and risk management
decision (TRED)for oxytetracycline."
t41 For example:Tsui, M.T. and Chu, L.M., 2003.Aquatic toxicity of glyphosate-based formulations: comparison between
different organisms and the effects of environmental factors; Chemosphere,52(7), pp.1189-1197. Relyea, R.A., 2005. The lethal
impact of Roundup on aquatic and terrestrial amphibians. Ecological applications,15(4), pp.1118-1124.
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Gomes, M.P.,Smedbol, E.,Chalifour,A., Henault-Ethier, L., Labrecque, M., Lepage, L., Lucotte, M. and Juneau, P., 2014.
Alteration of plant physiology by glyphosate and its by-product aminomethylphosphonic acid:an overview.Journal of
experimental botany,65(17), pp.4691-4703.
milkweed stands.l However,the potentially much greater impact of glyphosate through its effects on soil microbiota is
unknown and require long term studies.
The recent science on glyphosate–and we have only looked at the tip of the iceberg—reveals the inadequacy of the risk
assessment model for protecting humans and the environment from pesticides. From toxicity testing of the technical active
ingredient,glyphosate appeared to have minimal health and environmental effects. But when scientists look at the effects of
the complete product–and more importantly, the effects as mediated by microbiota in the soil and the gut-- it has been
shown to have health and environmental effects that threaten the lives of myriad species, including our own.
u Pleasants,J.M. and Oberhauser, K.S., 2013. Milkweed loss in agricultural fields because of herbicide use:effect on the
monarch butterfly population. Insect Conservation and Diversity,6(2), pp.135-144.
Ll Kremer, R.J.,2017.Soil and environmental health after twenty years of intensive use of glyphosate.Adv Plants Agric Res 2017,6(5):
00224.
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