Analysis released by the Environmental Working Group has revealed that 247 elementary schools exists within 1,000 feet of corn or soy fields, and 500 schools exists less than 200 feet from crops that are sprayed with cancer-causing weed killer.
Glyphosate is a chemical widely used as a herbicide in many weed killers, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) have said is “probably carcinogenic to humans”.
Yahoo News reports:
While the notion of a carcinogenic chemical being sprayed so close to schoolkids is highly disconcerting, no research has shown a spike in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma—the cancer WHO researchers said may be linked with glyphosate—among corn belt residents over the last 20 years.
In Argentina, however, there has been concern that ag chemicals, including glyphosate, have led to a precipitous spike in cancer rates and birth defects in some parts of that country.
Meanwhile, in Iowa, a leading producer of corn and soy, the concern over drift is focused solely on the damage suffered by nearby crops, not people.