Waste from herbicide production mosaic
This photo shows wastewater from the production of herbicide (glyphosate).
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HERBICIDE
Glyphosate is the world's best-selling herbicide, used to control weed growth in gardens, farms, and public outdoor spaces.
Farmers use glyphosate, known commercially as Roundup, to prevent weeds from competing with their crops for nutrients and sunlight.
This 'broad-spectrum' herbicide has the key advantage of being effective against a variety of weeds.
It was previously believed that glyphosate could be applied to fields without contaminating watercourses.
But over the past few years, the safety of glyphosate has been called into question.
Research has suggested that glyphosate may indeed leach from certain types of soil, allowing it to pollute aquatic ecosystems.
Photo by Zoe Schaeffer on Unsplash
Photo by Ant Rozetsky on Unsplash
Overuse of glyphosate has caused weeds to evolve better resistance to the herbicide.
This has created a vicious circle of glyphosate usage: as resistance to glyphosate increases, farmers and gardeners must apply even more to control weed growth. This encourages weeds to evolve even greater glyphosate resistance.
PRODUCING GLYPHOSATE
There are several different methods for producing glyphosate, each requiring different raw materials and producing different wastes. These include the 'DEA method' and the 'HCN method'.
The HCN method of glyphosate production is considered the most environmentally damaging. The process uses formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide as raw materials and releases toxic wastewater.
The DEA method is used in factories such as Luling, Louisiana. This technique can produce glyphosate without the use of hydrogen cyanide. However, it does require the use of ethylene oxide, a proven carcinogen.
Photo by Vedrana Filipović on Unsplash
WASTEWATER
In 2013, the glyphosate-production plant in Luling released waste including 4700 tonnes of formaldehyde, 3500 tonnes of formic acid, and 35 tonnes of chloromethane. Only half of this waste was treated before release.
Formaldehyde is a pungent-smelling chemical best known for its use as an embalming agent. It is highly water soluble and poses a significant threat to freshwater and marine algae.
Studies have also shown that freshwater fish species, like striped bass, can be poisoned by waters contaminated with formaldehyde.
The release of chloromethane during glyphosate production is also a potential cause for concern.
Although our understanding of the impacts of human-generated chloromethane is limited, chloromethane is known to contribute to the depletion of atmospheric ozone.
It is therefore important to try and limit the environmental release of chloromethane to help protect our ozone layer, and prevent harmful UV radiation from the sun from reaching the Earth’s surface.
Photo by Chris Nguyen on Unsplash
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