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Abby's Magazine - Volume 4 Issue 6 | Page 29 Mee ng on Pes cide Residues concluded that "glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through the diet", even at doses as high as 2,000- mg/kg-body weight orally. Discovery Glyphosate was first synthesized in 1950 by Swiss chemist Henry Mar n, who worked for the Swiss company Cilag. The work was never published. Stauffer Chemical patented the agent as a chemical chelator in 1964 as it binds and removes minerals such as calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, and zinc. Somewhat later, glyphosate was independently discovered at Monsanto in 1970. Monsanto chemists had synthesized about 100 analogs of aminomethylphosphonic acid as poten al water- so ening agents. Two were found to have weak herbicidal ac vity, and John E. Franz, a chemist at Monsanto, was asked to try to make analogs with stronger herbicidal ac vity. Glyphosate was the third analog he made. Franz received the Na onal Medal of Technology in 1987 and the Perkin Medal for Applied Chemistry in 1990 for his discoveries. In 2008, USDA- ARS scien st Stephen O. Duke and Stephen B. Powles, an Australian weed expert — described glyphosate as a "virtually ideal" herbicide. Glyphosate is effec ve in killing a wide variety of plants, including grasses, broadleaf and woody plants. By volume, it is one of the most widely used herbicides. In 2007, glyphosate was the most used herbicide in the United States agricultural sector, with 180 to 185 million pounds (82,000 to 84,000 tones) applied, the second-most used in home and garden with 5 to 8 million pounds (2,300 to 3,600 tones) and government applied 13 to 15 million pounds (5,900 to 6,800 tones) in industry and commerce. It is commonly used for agriculture, hor culture, vi culture, and silviculture purposes, as well as garden maintenance (including home use). It has a rela vely small effect on some clover species and morning glory. Glyphosate and related herbicides are o en used for invasive species eradica on and habitat restora on, especially to enhance na ve plant establishment in prairie ecosystems. The controlled applica on is usually combined with a selec ve herbicide and tradi onal methods of weed eradica on such as mulching to achieve an op mal effect. In many ci es, glyphosate is sprayed along the sidewalks and streets, as well as crevices in between pavement where weeds o en grow. However, up to 24% of glyphosate applied to hard surfaces can be run off by water. Glyphosate contamina on of surface water is a ributed to urban and agricultural use. Glyphosate is used to clear railroad tracks and get rid of unwanted aqua c vegeta on. Since 1994, glyphosate has been used in aerial spraying in Colombia in coca eradica on programs; Colombia announced in May 2015 that by October, it would cease using glyphosate in these programs due to concerns about human toxicity of the chemical. In addi on to its use as an herbicide, glyphosate is also used for crop desicca on (sicca on) to increase harvest yield, and as a result of desicca on, to increase sucrose concentra on in sugarcane before harvest. Formulations and tradenames Glyphosate is marketed in the United States and worldwide by many agrochemical companies, in different solu on strengths and with various adjuvants, under dozens of tradenames. As of 2010, more than 750 glyphosate products were on the market. In 2012, in terms of volume about half of the total global consump on of glyphosate was for conven onal crops; Asia Pacific was the largest and fastest growing market. Chinese manufacturers collec vely are the world's largest producers of glyphosate and its precursors and account for about 30% of global exports. Key manufacturers include Anhui Huaxing Chemical Industry Company, BASF, Bayer Crop Science, Dow Agro Sciences, DuPont, Jiangsu Good Harvest-Weien Agrochemical Company, Monsanto, Nantong Jiangshan Agrochemical & Chemicals Co., Nufarm Limited, SinoHarvest, Syngenta, and Zhejiang Xinan Chemical Industrial Group Company. Monsanto Monsanto developed and patented the use of glyphosate to kill weeds in the early 1970s, and first brought it to market in 1974, under the Roundup brand name. While its ini al