A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 80% of urine samples tested found traces of a common herbicide linked to an increased cancer risk, raising concerns about the overuse of the chemical, the Guardian reports.
In 2,310 urine samples, selected to represent a general cross-section of the population, 1,885 were found to have detectable traces of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, which is the most-commonly used herbicide in the world. Farmers, gardeners and landscapers–as well homeowners–in the United States use more than 200 million pounds of glyphosate, putting it into the food supply and water supply.
“Children are more heavily exposed to pesticides than adults because pound-for-pound they drink more water, eat more food and breathe more air,” Phil Landrigan, director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good at Boston College. “Also, children have many years of future life when they can develop diseases with long incubation periods such as cancer. This is particularly a concern with the herbicide, glyphosate.”