Author(s)

Robin Mesnage, Christian Moesch, Rozenn Le Grand Grand, Guillaume Lauthier, Joël Spiroux de Vendômois, Steeve Gress, Gilles-Eric Séralini

CRIIGEN, Paris, France.
Network on Risks, Quality and Sustainable Environment MRSH-CNRS, Institute of Biology, University of Caen, Caen, France.
Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, University Hospital of Limoges, Limoges, France.

We tested the presence of glyphosate in the urines of a farmer who sprayed a glyphosate based herbicide on his land, and in his family, as his children were born with birth defects that could be due to or promoted by pesticides. Glyphosate residues were measured in urines a day before, during, and two days after spraying, by liquid chromatography-linear ion trap mass spectrometry. Glyphosate reached a peak of 9.5 μg/L in the farmer after spraying, and 2 μg/L were found in him and in one of his children living at a distance from the field, two days after the pulverization. Oral or dermal absorptions could explain the differential pesticide excretions, even in family members at a distance from the fields. A more detailed following of agricultural practices and family exposures should be advocated together with information and recommendations.

Glyphosate Exposure; Pesticides; Birth Defects; Agricultural Practices

R. Mesnage, C. Moesch, R. Grand, G. Lauthier, J. Vendômois, S. Gress and G. Séralini, "Glyphosate Exposure in a Farmer’s Family," Journal of Environmental Protection, Vol. 3 No. 9, 2012, pp. 1001-1003. doi: 10.4236/jep.2012.39115.