Bayer proposes $7.25 billion Roundup settlement as Supreme Court case looms

"Bayer faces more than 180,000 claims over Roundup, which contains the herbicide glyphosate - the chemical at the center of the controversy. Most of those claims are from people who used the weedkiller, which is sold at any hardware or garden store, at home. The lawsuits have prompted Bayer to pull glyphosate out of many products under the Roundup brand, though glyphosate is still commonly used by farmers and in the agriculture business broadly."

"The science around glyphosate is controversial. The Environmental Protection Agency has said that glyphosate is not likely to cause cancer in users if applied as directed, and does not require companies selling it to include a warning about links to cancer. The World Health Organization's cancer agency classified the chemical as a substance likely to cause cancer in humans more than a decade ago, though those findings faced scrutiny a few years later over reports that the published version differed from a draft."

A $7.25 billion settlement proposal targets a large group of cancer claims tied to Roundup. Bayer faces more than 180,000 claims, primarily from home users of the weedkiller that contains glyphosate. Bayer removed glyphosate from many Roundup products, though the chemical remains widely used in agriculture. Regulatory opinions conflict: the EPA says glyphosate is not likely to cause cancer when used as directed and does not require warnings, while the World Health Organization's cancer agency labeled it likely carcinogenic over a decade ago. A key 25-year-old study was retracted after emails revealed Monsanto influence, and the Supreme Court will hear related arguments in April. Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018.

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