The banned weed killer glyphosate is to be studied by the Bermuda Government to determine whether its use on the Island presents a threat to the environment.

A six-month ban was placed on glyphosate, which is used by the popular weed killer Roundup, in May of last year.

It followed a World Health Organisation study of the chemical which announced in March 2015 that glyphosate was “probably carcinogenic to humans”.

The Ministry of Health, Seniors and Environment banned the importation of glyphosate formulae pending “a local review of all pertinent information”.

A November 2015 survey by the European Food Safety Authority concluded that the chemical was “unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans”.

The ministry has committed to studying the potential risk to the public from a variety of possible exposure pathways, and will explore concentrations of the chemical and its by-products in “a variety of groundwater, air and food samples”.

These concentrations will then be compared with international standards to determine whether there is a risk to people in Bermuda, or toxicity to the environment.

The chemicals are used in the popular weed killer Rodeo as well as Roundup.

A ministry statement issued this afternoon said that the Department of Environmental Protection had been working to source analytical laboratories overseas that could conduct the analyses to appropriate detection limits.

After “considerable effort” to find the appropriate laboratories, the department estimates that sampling will start in April and finish by July.

The department is also searching for alternatives to Roundup, which has a history of widespread use in Bermuda. Tests for substitute weed killers will come later in the year.

The studies on glyphosate will go under a government review to determine future use of the chemical on the Island.

The statement continued: “Considering there is still a pressing need for the effective control weeds and Roundup products are an industry standard, in the interim the Ministry of Health Seniors and Environment will permit the importation of Ready To Use glyphosate products, until the such time as the final recommendation can be made. The ban on concentrated forms of glyphosate will continue.

“Ministry technical officers will be giving an update on the work and will be available for questions at a lunchtime meeting Friday, February 5 at 12.30pm at the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo.”