Human ocular efects from self-reported exposures to Roundup® herbicides

Abstract

We evaluated ocular effects from reported human exposures to Roundup® herbicides based on 1513 calls to an American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) certified regional poison center during the years 1993 through 1997. The preponderance of reported exposures were judged by poison center specialists to result in either no injury (21%) or transient minor symptoms (70%). There was some temporary injury in 2% of cases; one injury took more than 2 weeks to resolve. In no instance did exposure result in permanent change to the structure or function of the eye. Since the representativeness of calls to poison control centers is unknown, several interpretations of these findings are possible. The most conservative interpretation is that there were no serious ocular effects from exposure to Roundups herbicides during a 5 year period among callers to a single regional poison center. A less conservative interpretation would be that severe ocular effects from Roundupg exposures are rare among users of these products.