ByeGly

Updated November 11, 2026

Where agencies stand

Three bodies are cited most often on glyphosate: the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the European Union, where the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) classifies hazards and EFSA peer-reviews risk assessments. They do different jobs and reached different conclusions. This page sets out what each one says, in its own words where possible, with links to its documents. This page lays out the record. ByeGly's position is on the Ban glyphosate page. ByeGly makes no health claims.

In 2015, the WHO's cancer agency (IARC) classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans. Source: IARC, 2015.1

Hazard positions, side by side

A hazard classification asks whether a substance could cause harm under some conditions. It does not look at how much people are exposed to.23

IARC U.S. EPA EU: ECHA Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC)
Position In 2015, the WHO's cancer agency (IARC) classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans. Source: IARC, 2015. "Not likely to be carcinogenic to humans" "Classifying glyphosate as a carcinogen is not justified"
Category or detail Group 2A1 EPA's own wording, "In its 2017 assessment, EPA concluded that glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans."3 RAC kept glyphosate's existing classifications and did not add a cancer classification. ECHA says this is "consistent with ... RAC's 2017 opinion."2
Document IARC Monographs Volume 112 (evaluation March 2015; volume published 2017)14 Revised Glyphosate Issue Paper: Evaluation of Carcinogenic Potential (docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0361-0073)5 ECHA news release ECHA/NR/22/10, "Glyphosate: no change proposed to hazard classification"2
Date March 2015 December 12, 2017 (document date) May 30, 2022

Risk findings, side by side

A risk assessment looks at expected exposure from labeled uses.36

U.S. EPA EFSA and the European Union
What it does Registers pesticides for use in the U.S. and sets residue limits on food EFSA reviews risk assessments; the European Commission and member states decide on approval
Key document and year 2017 human health risk assessment; registration review open since 20093 EFSA peer review conclusion, July 6, 2023; EU renewal of approval, 202367
In its own words "EPA's 2017 human health risk assessment did not identify risks of concern from glyphosate uses, including for cancer, dietary and drinking-water exposure, and residential exposure."3 EFSA "did not identify any critical areas of concern" in its peer review.6
Current status (checked November 11, 2026) Registration review not finished. Updated human health risk assessment: "with completion anticipated in late 2026" on EPA's glyphosate page (last updated August 26, 2026)3; "with completion anticipated in early 2027" in an EPA and HHS release (September 23, 2026; page last updated October 22, 2026)8 Approved in the EU until December 15, 2033, with conditions7

IARC

  • Who. IARC describes itself as "the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization."9
  • What it said. In 2015, the WHO's cancer agency (IARC) classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans. Source: IARC, 2015.1
  • Citation detail. Group 2A. IARC Monographs Volume 112. A working group of 17 experts from 11 countries met at IARC on March 3-10, 2015. The volume was published in 2017.14

U.S. EPA

  • Who. EPA registers pesticides under federal law and sets tolerances, the legal limits on residues in food.3
  • Hazard position. "In its 2017 assessment, EPA concluded that glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans."3 The document is the Revised Glyphosate Issue Paper: Evaluation of Carcinogenic Potential, dated December 12, 2017, in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0361.5
  • Risk finding. "EPA's 2017 human health risk assessment did not identify risks of concern from glyphosate uses, including for cancer, dietary and drinking-water exposure, and residential exposure."3
  • On IARC. EPA says the two evaluations "differed in scope and methodology": IARC looks at whether a chemical can cause cancer under any conditions, while EPA looks at risk under expected real-world exposures.3
  • Registration review, by year.3
    • 2009: EPA opened its registration review of glyphosate.
    • February 2020: EPA issued an Interim Registration Review Decision.
    • June 2022: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the human health part of that decision.
    • September 2022: EPA withdrew the interim decision.
    • August 2026: EPA released its open literature search for public comment, to inform an updated human health risk assessment.3
    • September 28, 2026: EPA extended the comment period on that literature search "from September 24, 2026, to November 23, 2026."10
  • Timing of the update (checked November 11, 2026). EPA's own pages give two different timings, and we show both:
    • EPA's glyphosate page (last updated August 26, 2026) says EPA is updating its human health risk assessment, "with completion anticipated in late 2026." Its list of upcoming actions also says: "Early 2027: EPA intends to hold a public webinar to provide an overview of the updated human health risk assessment."3
    • The EPA and HHS news release dated September 23, 2026 (page last updated October 22, 2026) says EPA is updating its human health risk assessment and its cancer evaluation, "with completion anticipated in early 2027."8
  • HHS agreement. EPA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services signed an agreement in September 2026 to share scientific information for the review. EPA says it "retains sole authority for registration decisions."8

The European Union: ECHA, EFSA and the Commission

  • Who. ECHA's Committee for Risk Assessment classifies hazards under the EU's Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) rules. EFSA peer-reviews pesticide risk assessments. The European Commission and EU member states decide whether a substance is approved.267
  • ECHA hazard finding (May 30, 2022). ECHA says the committee "again concludes that classifying glyphosate as a carcinogen is not justified," and that the opinion is consistent with RAC's 2017 opinion. ECHA says this process "does not assess the exposure of people or the environment to glyphosate."2
  • EFSA risk finding (July 6, 2023). EFSA's summary is titled "Glyphosate: no critical areas of concern; data gaps identified." It says the assessment "did not identify critical areas of concern."6 EFSA also listed issues that could not be finalized, including the consumer dietary risk assessment, one impurity, and risks to aquatic plants.6
  • What the EU decided. The European Commission says the 2019-2023 assessment "showed that there is currently no scientific or legal justification for a ban," which "led to the renewal of approval of glyphosate in 2023."7 Glyphosate is approved in the EU until December 15, 2033, under conditions and restrictions. Member states authorize individual products and may add limits. Uses for pre-harvest desiccation are not permitted in the EU.7
  • Next steps. The Commission says it has asked ECHA and EFSA to review raw data from a 2025 Ramazzini Institute study, and that it "will act immediately to amend or withdraw the approval, as appropriate" if the agencies find the approval criteria are no longer met.7

Why they reach different conclusions

The agencies agree on some things and disagree on others. In short:

Question Where they line up Where they split
Is glyphosate a cancer hazard? EPA and ECHA's committee say no cancer classification is warranted32 In 2015, the WHO's cancer agency (IARC) classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans. Source: IARC, 2015.1
Is there a risk of concern at expected exposures? EPA (2017) and EFSA (2023) did not identify one36 IARC classifies hazard, not risk at expected exposures; EFSA listed data gaps, and a U.S. court found problems with EPA's reasoning (see below)611

Their published explanations point to three reasons.

1. They ask different questions: hazard or risk.

  • EPA says its evaluation and IARC's "differed in scope and methodology: IARC assesses whether a chemical is capable of causing cancer under any conditions — while EPA assesses risk under expected real-world exposures."3
  • ECHA's committee also classifies hazard. ECHA says this process "does not assess the exposure of people or the environment to glyphosate."2 So IARC and ECHA ask a similar question but reached different answers.
  • EFSA describes risk assessment as four steps: "hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure assessment and risk characterisation."6

2. They weighed different bodies of evidence.

  • IARC says its evaluation "is based on the systematic assembly and review of all publicly available and pertinent studies, by independent experts." IARC notes that "Most people′s exposure to glyphosate concerns commercial formulations that include glyphosate and other ingredients," and that its Monograph included studies of those formulations as well as of "pure" glyphosate.1
  • IARC's reasoning. Its classification rests on "limited" evidence of cancer in humans and "sufficient" evidence of cancer in experimental animals, and IARC says it is further supported by "strong" evidence from studies of damage to genetic material.1
  • EPA says it "considers all available information, including peer-reviewed independent research, studies required as part of the registration process, and public submissions." EPA says its glyphosate assessment has reviewed "more than 6,000 individual studies."3
  • EFSA says its peer review "is based on an evaluation of many thousands of studies and scientific articles, and also incorporates valuable input gathered during the public consultation." The risk assessment was carried out by authorities in four EU member states.6
  • Agreement among regulators. EPA says its classification "is consistent with conclusions reached by a number of other regulatory authorities," including EFSA, ECHA and Canada's pesticide regulator.3

3. Within the U.S., a court questioned EPA's reasoning.

  • In June 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the human health part of EPA's 2020 interim decision. The court wrote that EPA's "not likely" conclusion "is in tension with parts of the agency's own analysis and with the guidelines it purports to follow."113
  • EPA withdrew the interim decision in September 2022 and is updating its human health risk assessment. EPA says it will also evaluate a 2025 study from the Ramazzini Institute, which was "not part of EPA's earlier evaluation."3

We report each position as the agency states it. ByeGly does not say which one is right.

Sources

Footnotes

  1. IARC, IARC Monograph on Glyphosate (Q&A): https://www.iarc.who.int/featured-news/media-centre-iarc-news-glyphosate/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  2. ECHA, Glyphosate: no change proposed to hazard classification (ECHA/NR/22/10, May 30, 2022): https://echa.europa.eu/-/glyphosate-no-change-proposed-to-hazard-classification ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  3. U.S. EPA, Glyphosate (last updated August 26, 2026; checked November 11, 2026): https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/glyphosate ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18 ↩19 ↩20

  4. IARC Monographs, Volume 112 (2017): https://publications.iarc.who.int/549 ↩ ↩2

  5. U.S. EPA, Revised Glyphosate Issue Paper: Evaluation of Carcinogenic Potential, dated December 12, 2017 (EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0361-0073): https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0361-0073 ↩ ↩2

  6. EFSA, Glyphosate: no critical areas of concern; data gaps identified (July 6, 2023): https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/news/glyphosate-no-critical-areas-concern-data-gaps-identified ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  7. European Commission, Glyphosate (status in the EU): https://food.ec.europa.eu/plants/pesticides/approval-active-substances-safeners-and-synergists/renewal-approval/glyphosate_en ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  8. U.S. EPA, EPA and HHS Announce New Scientific Partnership to Strengthen Glyphosate Review (September 23, 2026; page last updated October 22, 2026; checked November 11, 2026): https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-hhs-announce-new-scientific-partnership-strengthen-glyphosate-review ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  9. IARC, About IARC: https://www.iarc.who.int/cards_page/about-iarc/ ↩

  10. Federal Register, Glyphosate Open Literature Search To Inform Human Health Risk Assessment; Extension of Comment Period (September 28, 2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/28/2026-19775/glyphosate-open-literature-search-to-inform-human-health-risk-assessment-extension-of-comment-period ↩

  11. NRDC v. U.S. EPA, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 20-70787 (June 17, 2022): https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2022/06/17/20-70787.pdf ↩ ↩2