A San Francisco federal jury unanimously agreed on Tuesday that Roundup caused a man’s cancer \u2014 a potentially massive blow to the company that produces the glyphosate -based herbicide currently facing hundreds of similar lawsuits.<\/p>\n
After five days of deliberation the jury concluded the weed killer was a “substantial factor” in causing non-Hodgkins lymphoma in Edwin Hardeman, a 70-year-old Sonoma County man.<\/p>\n
The verdict is the second in the U.S. to find a connection between the herbicide’s key ingredient, glyphosate, and the disease. In August, another San Francisco jury determined Roundup had caused cancer in a former groundskeeper. It also decided Monsanto, the company that developed the popular weed killer, deliberately failed to warn consumers or regulators about the product’s risks.<\/p>\n
In that case, jurors awarded the plaintiff, Dewayne Johnson $289 million. However a judge later slashed the damages payout to $78 million.<\/p>\n
The German pharmaceutical and chemical giant Bayer bought Monsanto in June.<\/p>\n
In a statement Tuesday, the company said it is disappointed with the jury’s decision “but we continue to believe firmly that the science confirms glyphosate-based herbicides do not cause cancer.”<\/p>\n
“We are confident the evidence in phase two will show that Monsanto’s conduct has been appropriate and the company should not be liable for Mr. Hardeman’s cancer,” Bayer added.<\/p>\n
The jury in Hardeman’s case is now tasked with determining liability and damages.<\/p>\n
More than 750 cases Roundup cases against Bayer have been consolidated in San Francisco’s federal court.<\/p>\n
Source:NPR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"