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From July 1987 edition of The Progressive, and article entitled 'Weed Killer':
Eduardo Neaves, a 12-year-old, went swimming in a canal in Coral Gables, Florida that was contaminated with four times the recommended amount of RoundUp herbicide. The child became completely paralyzed, and five years after the incident suffers residual nervous system damage.
The EPA, according to this article, in 1985 reported on the case of a 59-year-old woman in Tennessee who has suffered central nervous system damage after exposure to RoundUp.
Monsanto's original neurotoxicity studies on RoundUp were ruled invalid by the EPA due to "extensive gaps in the raw data supporting study findings and conclusions. There has been no requirement for a new study on the neurotoxicity of RoundUp.
Other persons have experienced swelling in legs, arms, and joints after exposure to RoundUp.
Still others have experienced the following after exposures to RoundUp: central nervous system damage, body swelling in legs, face and abdomen. Other RoundUp overexposure symptoms reported include visual, hearing, taste, and smell disturbances; balance disorder; body-wide muscle twitches and tics; seizure disorder; muscle paralysis; peripheral neuropathy; loss of gross motor skills and loss of fine motor skills.
From a paper entitled 'Glyphosate' prepared by Pesticide Action Network - Asia and Pacific
"Glyphosate is the most frequent cause of complaints and poisoning incidents recorded by the Health and Safety Executive in the UK." (Pesticides Trust 1996)
Dr. Ricky Goring of New Zealand estimates that 1 in 20 people in New Zealand are sensitive to glyphosate, with the most common symptoms including: fatigue, headaches, spaciness, rashes, and unexplained drops in blood pressure. Dr. Gorringe states these symptoms are the result of inhalation exposures.
In 1980 the EPA reported that among 94 people reporting exposures to glyphosate in the US, "the following symptoms were noted: bronchial constriction, pleuritic chest pain and nasal congestion; blurred vision, corneal erosion, and conjunctivitis; contact dermatitis; headache; nausea, diarrhoea and abdominal pain; irritability; excessive sweating; vertigo; malaise; swelling of the extremities; and nervous system disorders."
The paralytic seizures that began for one patient in August 1996, right after the patient's last exposure to RoundUp herbicide, involve impaired erythrocytes. In a blood test done in December 1996, five months after the patient's exposures to RoundUp herbicide, over 90 per cent of this patient's erythrocytes were damaged, showing up as either flat or misshapen. This patient also experienced reduced cognitive capacities, and a vast assortment of neurological symptoms since sustaining RoundUp overexposure. The first year and a half after the patient's exposures to RoundUp, this individual got between 0 - 2 hours of sleep per night.
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