Glyphosate in Water

A city would never intentionally allow weed killer in water, but studies have found that tap, well, and bottled water often contain unsafe amounts of chemical ingredients. Chemicals such as pesticides and weed killers can also contaminate water. Glysophate is a substance that you're unlikely to smell or tastein your water, making it unnoticeable. While it doesn't cause immediate illness, it can negatively affect your health.

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Rising Concern Over Water Safety

Water safety is a significant concern for Americans. Harmful substances such as lead, chemicals, and bacteria can enter drinking water sources, potentially harming health and quality of life. While the government took action in 2024 to reduce per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water, concern is rising about levels of glyphosate and how safe or unsafe it is in various consumption levels.

What Is Glyphosate?

Glyphosate is an herbicidederived from glycine, which is one of 20 amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Growers typically use this substance to control broadleaf weeds, grasses, and aquatic plants.

Users can apply glyphosate directly to undesirable plants or to the soil before planting and harvest. It is a nonselective herbicide, so it will kill most plants it comes into contact with. Many U.S. crops are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that have been modified to be tolerant to this herbicide, though, so they can thrive even when glyphosate is applied.

Glyphosate is a heavily used herbicide worldwide, and it is an ingredient in the Monsanto weedkiller known as Roundup. Its use around the world has increased substantiallysince its introduction in the 1970s. In the United States, over 750 products containing glyphosate are currently for sale.

Typically, farmers apply glyphosate-containing herbicides to the leaves and stems of unwanted plants. The leaves and stems absorb the herbicide, and the glyphosate then gets distributed to the plants' meristem tissues, which are the areas where growth takes place.

How Does Glyphosate Work?

Glyphosate works by inhibiting a specific metabolic pathway, the shikimic pathway, that plants need to survive. Disrupting this pathway results in decreased production of an enzyme known as 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase.

Without the necessary amounts of EPSP, plants cannot produce the amino acids they need to make proteins effectively and continue to grow. Under these conditions, the plants soon become stunted and discolored, and they wither and die. After the application of glyphosate, plant death generally takes between four and 20 days.

What Are the Different Types of Glyphosate?

Glyphosate comes in several forms, including an acid form, which is the type most commonly used in agricultural applications. Other forms of this chemical are the following:

• Mono- and diammonium salt
• Potassium salt
• Sodium salt
• Isopropylamine salt
• Trimethylsulfonium salt

Some of these forms of glyphosate, including the commonly used acid form, exist as odorless white solids, but some can be gold-colored liquids.

Where Is Glyphosate Used?

Glyphosate is generally used in agricultural operations, as well as in forestry work, in aquatic settings, and on home lawns and gardens.

• Agriculture: In agricultural settings, glyphosate is typically used for weed control. The crops on which glyphosate is most commonly used include soybeans and field corn. Glyphosate is also used extensively on hay and pastures. The sodium salt form of glyphosate has applications in regulating plant growth and helping to ripen specific crop varieties.
• Forestry: Forestry applications often use glyphosate for weed control as well — for example, to give young trees room to grow in tree nurseries.
• Aquatic settings: Glyphosate can be used aquatically in settings such as ditches and drainage channels.
• Lawn and garden care: Glyphosate is just as effective at weed control in a small lawn or garden plot as in vast crop fields.

Potential Impacts of Glyphosate

Glyphosate has many potential health, ecological, and environmental implications. 

Health 

Glyphosate's effects on human health can vary with the amount of glyphosate in the environment, as well as the length and frequency of exposure. Other environmental factors, as well as the health of the individual in question, can also play a role. The potential health effects of glyphosate are not yet well understood, but studies show that it may contribute to the following conditions and complications:

• Developmental defects: In animal studies, the ingestion of glyphosate has caused developmental effects ranging from low birth weight to skeletal changes in developing young.
• Gastrointestinal effects:Long-term ingestion also caused minor gastrointestinal effects.
• Reproductive and neurological complications: Some studies have indicated that ingesting even trace amounts of glyphosate is associated with an increased risk of adverse reproductive and neurological health effects.
• Birth defects and chronic disease:A 2019 study of rabbits found that though glyphosate exposure produced minimal carcinogenic effects in the exposed generation and their offspring, the third and fourth generations of offspring experienced a range of harmful effects, including kidney disease, prostate disease, ovarian disease, and birth defects.
• Cancer: Some animal studies, though not all, have also found glyphosate ingestion to have a carcinogenic effect at very high doses. The International Agency for Research on Cancer — part of the World Health Organization — classifies glyphosate as a possible carcinogen because of its potential role in developing liver and kidney tumors, though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not. In January 2020, six trials were set to begin with plaintiffs alleging that Monsanto's glyphosate-containing herbicides caused their cancer.

The metabolic pathway that glyphosate acts on in plants is not present in animals, so glyphosate is generally considered nontoxic to humans and to most animal life. However, certain studies have called this classification into question, though humans are unlikely to be exposed to the high concentrations of glyphosate used in those studies.

People who come into contact with glyphosate in the environment may experience a stinging or burning sensation in their eyes and throat, or they may notice skin irritation. Swallowing large quantities of glyphosate can also cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Ingestion of large enough quantities can be fatal.

Ecological

Glyphosate has been found to affect various animals and insects. Consider how it can potentially harm the following species:

• Birds: Glyphosate can be toxic to birds, and it can reduce the number of insects in a bird's habitat.
• Bees and honey production: Glyphosate may harm bee populations because it can negatively affect their core microbiota, which is essential for their metabolism and preventing infections. The herbicide can also adversely affect their honey production.
• Rats and rabbits: Other studies of some of the specific effects of glyphosate have found that glyphosate is low in toxicity to rats when ingested or inhaled and low in toxicity to rabbits when applied to their skin. A separate study of rats found that ingesting high doses of glyphosate led to decreased weight gain in female rats — in male rats, researchers observed decreased urinary pH, increased incidence of cataracts and other lens problems, and increased liver weight.
• Aquatic life: Glyphosate can affect fish endocrine, physiological, behavioral, and biochemical pathways, compromising the survival of various species.

Other studies have found that glyphosate exposure can cause anorexia, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive salivation, depression, and reduced heartbeats in exposed animals over the short term. Heightened exposure has led animal subjects to collapse and have convulsions.

The way glyphosate toxicity works in animals — who do not have the metabolic pathway that glyphosate targets in plants — is a disputed subject. Some scientists have argued that the mechanism of glyphosate toxicity in animals disrupts the process of oxidative phosphorylation — that is, the electron transport chain that ultimately helps generate ATP, the primary energy source in animal cells. More research is necessary to determine whether or not this hypothesis is correct.

More research is necessary to resolve the discrepancies between results in different animal studies and help us understand how and when glyphosate has adverse effects on wild ecological communities in particular.

Environmental

Because of glyphosate's potential adverse effects, glyphosate in waterways is an environmental concern. The United States has monitored glyphosate levels in surface water since 2001. It has monitored levels of aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) — one of the primary chemicals that glyphosate breaks down into — as well.

The time it takes for half of a given amount of glyphosate to break down in soil ranges from one to 174 days. A half-life of 174 days — or about six months — means that glyphosate residues could potentially remain in the environment for years.

Since glyphosate is a nonselective herbicide, it could do extensive damage if it enters into the larger environment. Careless spraying or the transfer of contaminated soil could lead to the death of many beneficial plant species. 

Glyphosate is also of particular concern in the environment because of its potentially disruptive effects on entire communities and ecosystems. The environment offers many opportunities for the ingestion of glyphosate, from consumption of plants to intake of water, and a contaminated environment could sicken vast amounts of plant and animal life.

One Environmental Example

One initial example of glyphosate's potential environmental effects comes from a paper published in 2017 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. This paper discusses glyphosate levels in Campeche, a Mexican state on the Yucatan peninsula. Farmers in this region typically use glyphosate herbicides to protect their crops from weeds. Farming operations in this region, especially commercial farms, tend to use large amounts of herbicides on their crops.

Deforestation is also widespread in Campeche because farmers slash and burn forests to make room to grow their crops. As a result of deforestation, flooding is frequent as well. Many farmers construct infiltration wells, which fill with water to prevent the cropland from flooding. But the soil in Campeche is an extremely porous type known as karst, so these infiltration wells end up conducting herbicides directly into the groundwater.

Because of all these factors, the farmers of one city, Hopelchén, had large quantities of glyphosate in their urine. A control group of urban fishermen — who presumably consumed foods containing glyphosate but did not work close to the chemical — had smaller concentrations of glyphosate in their urine. Glyphosate was also found in 90% of the samples of groundwater taken during the study, as well as in other water sources.

That glyphosate has been found in human urine and in water does not automatically mean it causes adverse health or environmental effects. More research is necessary to determine the specific adverse effects glyphosate can have. But this result makes it clear that human ingestion of glyphosate through environmental contamination is a troubling issue and one requiring further study. 

How Does Glyphosate Get Into Water?

Understanding how glyphosate gets into water is essential to realizing its impact on rural and urban water supplies. Glyphosate can enter the following water sources in various ways:

Tap Water

Glyphosate can get into tap water through soil erosion and agricultural runoff. When glyphosate is applied to crops as an herbicide, some of it seeps into the soil below. Glyphosate tends to bind tightly to soil, so much of it resists being carried away in water. Some of it can be, however, and glyphosate can still easily enter the water supply through soil erosion — or through careless application. When rain or flooding occurs, the water may carry soil — and its bonded glyphosate — into rivers or streams.

Glyphosate is extremely soluble in water, and it can persist for up to 170 days in low-light conditions and over 300 days in dark conditions, such as would be found with groundwater. So when glyphosate does make it into the water supply, it tends to remain there for significant amounts of time. This long persistence makes it more likely for humans and animals to ingest glyphosate in their drinking water.

Municipal water users may have excess amounts of glyphosate in their tap water if their municipality filters its water improperly.

Well Water

When it comes to Roundup and well water, contamination is a significant concern. Glyphosate can end up in a well if the wind blows it from a nearby field onto a property or rain runoff carries it from plants into a water system. Accidental spills where this chemical is produced, stored, or used can also cause it to enter wells. Since it tends to persist in dark conditions, glyphosate in well water can remain for a long duration and increase the amount a household ingests.

Glyphosate is typically a larger concern for well water when a household uses products containing the chemical. The more an individual uses glyphosate in their yard, the more likely it is to leach into their well.

Bottled Water

Glyphosate may also be present in bottled water. A 2017 study in Campeche, Mexico, found high levels of glyphosate in bottled water, indicating excessive agricultural use of the chemical. Almost all the bottled water samples in this study exceeded the recommended amount of glyphosate for human consumption set forth by the European Union. And even in the United States, many types of bottled water are merely packaged tap water.

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What's the Acceptable Level of Glyphosate?

In the United States, glyphosate is covered under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The maximum level of glyphosate allowed in drinking water by this federal law is 700 parts per billion. However, concern about glyphosate levels in drinking water has increased over the years, and the scientific community has not reached a consensus on the chemical's level of toxicity.

Different states may also have different, stricter maximum levels of glyphosate. Minnesota, for instance, recommends glyphosate levels of less than 500 parts per billion. Check with your state to see what local recommendations or regulations are in place.

How to Protect Your Family From Glyphosate

Glyphosate in water represents a potential health threat, but you can take a few steps to help protect your family.

• Inform yourself: Ask around about which agricultural or forestry organizations near you use glyphosate for weed control. If you have large commercial agricultural operations in your area, there's a good chance they use glyphosate-containing herbicides on their crops.
• Reduce exposure: If you know where glyphosate use is prevalent in your area, you can take steps to try to minimize your exposure. For example, buying produce and other foods from local organic farms helps you ensure that your pantry contains glyphosate-free foods.
• Try water filters: While water filters do not specifically target and test for glyphosate, they can help reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, atrazine, and other chemical compounds with high vapor pressure. Since high-quality water filters reduce VOCs, they are likely to filter glyphosate in the same way. Reducing your exposure to glyphosate is one of the best ways to protect yourself and your family from its potentially harmful effects.

How Filters Remove Contaminants From Water

If you are looking for a glyphosate water filter, carbon-block technology offers the filtration you need for cleaner, safer water.

Quality carbon-block water filters remove VOCs through absorption. Activated carbon has a large surface area that attracts contaminants and small pores that trap them as water flows through the carbon block.

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Advantages of Removing Contaminants With a Carbon-Block Water Filter

In addition to glyphosate, a carbon-block filter can remove the following types of impurities:

• Bacteria
• Chlorine
• Forever Chemicals (PFAS)
• Lead
• Microplastics
• Arsenic
• Pesticides
• Pharmaceuticals
• Various VOCs

Removing these contaminants offers the following advantages:

Cleaner, Healthier Water

Quality water filtration removes VOCs, bacteria, metals, and chemicals, preventing the health effects they can cause. Filtered water is less likely to cause health complications such as gastrointestinal illness and chronic diseases, helping you maintain good health.

Better Taste

Filtered water also tastes better than unfiltered water. By removing chemicals, VOCs and metals, a filter gives your water with a light, refreshing taste.

Improve Your Water Quality With a Multipure Water Filter

Glyphosate is one of many contaminants that can turn up in drinking water. Iron, lead, mercury, chlorine, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, bacteria, forever chemicals, and VOCs — these contaminants can all have unwanted effects, ranging from an unpleasant taste or smell to gastrointestinal illness.

Water filtration products from Multipure can help. Our state-of-the-artcarbon-block technology allows our filters to bind effectively to many contaminants and help prevent them from entering your home. Contact us to learn more about our filtration products and how we can help you keep your drinking water safe.

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