Herbicide Roundup cannot cause cancer, judge finds in landmark ruling

There is not enough evidence to prove an ingredient used in a popular weed killer causes cancer, a Federal Court judge has found.

Justice Michael Lee handed down his judgment in the class action against widely-used herbicide Roundup this afternoon.

The case, launched by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, claims Roundup's active ingredient glyphosate caused the cancer of more than 800 Australian non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients.

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Justice Lee ruled there is not enough current evidence to say glyphosate is carcinogenic and capable of causing non-Hodgkin lymphoma in humans.

The judge only needed to consider the question of general causation - not the specific claims of lead applicant Kelvin McNickle or the other class action group members.

Justice Lee ordered the proceedings be dismissed.

Bayer, which acquired Roundup's producer Monsanto in 2018, has previously stated glyphosate-based herbicides have been rigorously tested in hundreds of studies and it is safe when used as directed.