French researchers have detected the herbicide glyphosate in human semen for the first time, in concentrations that are four times higher than in the blood. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup product, has been linked to a wide variety of negative health effects, including cancer and reproductive toxicity.

Details of the worrying discovery are reported in a study in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.

The researchers looked at samples of seminal fluid and blood from 128 male partners of infertile couples who were otherwise without any chronic illnesses or physical abnormalities. The men were aged 26-57 years.

Out of the 128 men sampled, 73 had levels of glyphosate in their blood and semen that were above the lower limit of quantification. Glyphosate levels in semen were found to be nearly four times higher than in blood.

Of those 73 patients who had detectable levels of glyphosate in their samples, blood and sperm concentrations of the chemical were not significantly different between patients living in the city and countryside, nor did they differ much between patients eating organic and non organic food. However, smokers had blood and seminal plasma concentrations twice as high as non-smokers, and farm workers had higher levels than those working in service-sector and transport jobs. The patient with the highest sperm glyphosate concentration was a farm worker.

No correlation was found between sperm counts and glyphosate concentration.

Users of glyphosate and people exposed to the chemical have filed massive class-action lawsuits against its manufacturer, Bayer, which bought Monsanto in 2016. As at March 2024, nearly 100,000 lawsuits filed against Monsanto and Bayer have been settled for approximately $11 billion. There are still as many as 54,000 Roundup lawsuits active at this time.

The chemical remains legal in the US, and the EPA classes it as having “low toxicity for people.”

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