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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a new interagency Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen scientific coordination and expand the evidence available to EPA’s ongoing registration review of glyphosate under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
Under the MOU, the agencies will exchange scientific information, identify research gaps, and expand research into potential human health effects. EPA retains sole authority for registration decisions under FIFRA, and the MOU creates no new authority for either agency.
“Americans have a right to know what the best science tells us about the chemicals they encounter in their food, workplaces, and environment,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Under the MOU, HHS and EPA will establish a joint technical working group that brings together experts from EPA, including the Office of Pesticide Programs, and HHS components, including the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Toxicology Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health, and Food and Drug Administration.
The working group will identify priority scientific questions, coordinate research and information-sharing, and align its work with EPA’s registration-review schedule.
EPA retains responsibility for registration decisions under FIFRA and final decision-making authority consistent with its statutory responsibilities. The MOU does not predetermine or direct the outcome of EPA’s glyphosate registration review or constrain EPA’s discretion under federal law.
HHS news release
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