EPA, HHS Sign Glyphosate MOU

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced an interagency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 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). The partnership will focus on key areas where additional research and scientific coordination can strengthen the evidence base available to EPA, including the toxicology of glyphosate formulations and surfactants, occupational epidemiology, human exposure and biomonitoring, and dietary exposure.

EPA retains sole authority for registration decisions under FIFRA, and the MOU creates no new authority for either agency. The MOU also does not predetermine or direct the outcome of EPA’s glyphosate registration review or constrain EPA’s discretion under federal law.

EPA is updating its human health risk assessment and its evaluation of glyphosate’s carcinogenic potential, with completion anticipated in early 2027. EPA recently released for public comment a comprehensive open-literature search protocol that will help inform the updated human health risk assessment.

For additional information about EPA’s glyphosate registration review, visit Docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0361.