EPA Releases Glyphosate Human Health Open Literature Search Document For Public Comment

On August 25, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of an open literature search document and the opening of a comment period on the results of a comprehensive open literature search in support of the ongoing registration review of glyphosate. This open literature search is intended to inform the upcoming hazard assessment for the updated glyphosate human health risk assessment, currently scheduled to be completed in late 2026. EPA is soliciting comments on the completeness of the Agency’s glyphosate open literature search, with comments due on September 24, 2026. 91 Fed. Reg. 5487.

EPA Action

Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the pesticide reevaluation process — called registration review — EPA is required by law every 15 years to reevaluate glyphosate to ensure that it continues to meet the statutory standard for registration as scientific data evolves. Because of the large and growing body of publicly available research, EPA routinely conducts open literature searches to identify, screen, assess, and incorporate relevant peer-reviewed studies (including epidemiological literature). EPA also reviews open literature submitted during public comment periods. The open literature search document provided by EPA describes the systematic review procedure and presents a comprehensive list of the studies EPA has identified, including the most recent search, which captures publications since EPA’s last open literature review for this active ingredient in 2017. The search results of all the glyphosate human health literature found are available in the EPA spreadsheet. EPA will use additional relevant studies to inform the upcoming human health risk assessment, which includes potential dietary risks associated with glyphosate residues in food and water.

Commentary

Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide registered by EPA for use on many crops and in non-crop sites such as forests, rights-of-way, pasture and rangeland, recreational and wildlife-management areas, and residential settings. There is continued debate on the cancer-causing effects of glyphosate, with virtually all global authoritative bodies having determined it causes no such effect and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and detractors claiming otherwise. In EPA’s 2017 human health risk assessment, EPA did not identify risks of concern with glyphosate uses, including for cancer, from dietary and drinking-water exposure or residential exposure. EPA now is updating the human health risk assessment to incorporate more recent, scientifically relevant published literature (including epidemiological data), which will inform EPA’s decisions moving forward. EPA also convened an independent scientific review panel in 2016 and solicited stakeholder input on scientific issues related to the carcinogenic potential of glyphosate. The conclusions of the scientific review panel can be found in EPA’s Scientific Advisory Panel Report for glyphosate. Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), EPA establishes pesticide tolerances (maximum residue limits) on food when it determines there is a “reasonable certainty that no harm will result from aggregate exposure to the pesticide residue” when used according to its label.

The updated literature review will inform a revised glyphosate human health risk assessment scheduled for release in late 2026. Unless new gold standard scientific literature or studies are found supporting glyphosate risks, it seems unlikely that EPA will significantly change the conclusions of its previous human health risk assessment supporting the currently registered uses.

Comments must be submitted at regulations.gov by September 24, 2026. EPA states that it anticipates completing its evaluation of glyphosate’s carcinogenic potential and human health risk assessment in late 2026, and EPA intends to hold a public webinar in early 2027 to provide an overview of the updated human health risk assessment. More information on glyphosate can be found at EPA’s Glyphosate Registration Review and on EPA’s webpage on glyphosate. 

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