City of Napa bans Roundup
Posted on March 23, 2019 by Sonoma Valley Sun
On Tuesday, the Napa City Council banned the use of any glyphosate-based herbicide on all city property. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup weed-killer.The new law does not affect use of the product on private land.
Also on Tuesday, a federal jury found that Roundup, Monsanto’s popular weed-killer, was a “substantial factor” in causing Edwin Hardeman’s non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The 70-year-old Sonoma County resident used the weed-killer on his property for 26 years, according to the New York Times.
Napa Parks and Recreation Services had already discontinued its use of glyphosate in 2016 and the Napa Utilities Department did the same in 2017.
The new regulation codifies those departments’ existing practice and extends it to all City of Napa departments, prohibiting all City employees and contractors from using glyphosate on all lands owned and maintained by the City. It also requires Napa City employees who become aware of any glyphosate use to report it to their supervisor.
Co-coordinator of GMO-Free Napa County, Carol Nagle, told the Napa council that the Hardeman verdict was the second case decided in favor of a plaintiff from California in which a jury determined that glyphosate was a significant cause of his Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.
There are currently 8,000 such cases pending nationwide, Nagle said.
3 thoughts on “City of Napa bans Roundup”
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Yet they still allow vineyards to mass spray glyphosate multiple times a year. Studies showed that glyphosate was present in many California wines. If the city is banning its use on city property because of safety concerns why not even consider who uses the vast majority of glyphosate? I know the answer. I’m just curious if city council will admit it.
It is a state law that local governments cannot ban approved pesticides on private land. The City and County have no jurisdiction over vineyard use. However, they can lead by example and the City of Napa is doing that.
Hurray for Napa! I would like to hope other cities and counties follow suit. Glypsosate is a terrible chemical, and is now in our food and water supplies, especially corn, which I no longer allow for even livestock.,