It\u2019s largely unclear what the long term health impacts are from repeated exposure to glyphosate, but they aren\u2019t good according to UC Irvine Professor of Developmental and Cell Biology<\/a> Bruce Blumberg, who\u2019s advocated for the chemicals not to be used in various Orange County cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the past few months, more residents have been questioning the local use of chemical herbicides in their communities as a state probe was recently initiated in South Orange County.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n [Read: Santana: Herbicide Use Near Doheny Beach Triggers State Probe<\/a>]<\/p>\n In a Friday interview, Blumberg noted there have been multiple settlements to workers who helped spray the chemical that later developed lymphoma, and that cities should err on the side of caution to not use the chemical wherever possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t really know the full spectrum of negative consequences, it takes a lot of money and effort to study that. There\u2019s no one providing that money,\u201d Blumberg said. \u201cThe long term consequences are by and large not completely known, but they\u2019re certainly not beneficial.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n McCuan said it took a heavy toll on her health.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI used to run marathons,\u201d McCuan said. \u201cI don\u2019t feel like how I did five years ago when I was able to walk out the door and go run 5-7 miles. My energy has never gone back to what it was, but it\u2019s much better than when I was bedridden.\u201d<\/p>\n After years of fighting her HOA board over the use of the chemicals, she decided to move to San Juan Capistrano based on their pledge that none of those chemicals were being used to manage the local landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n But just two months later, she found records from the city showcasing they were using those same herbicides all over town.\u00a0<\/p>\n When she started asking questions, she said the same city staff who encouraged her to move to the city stopped talking to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s a story many residents across Orange County are living as they find out that promises from city and county leaders to back off using glyphosates and other toxic herbicides never came true.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cities Often Reverse Promises to End Herbicide Use\u00a0<\/p>\n When McCuan moved to San Juan Capistrano, city leaders were part of a group of cities that had promised to prioritize not using herbicides with glyphosate.\u00a0<\/p>\n But that wasn\u2019t a promise the city stuck to, a fact officials only seemed to realize after residents began complaining.\u00a0<\/p>\n San Juan Capistrano\u2019s city manager declined to comment on this article beyond releasing a statement they sent several activists including McCuan, who complained about the use of herbicides, admitting their policies restricting them had \u201cnot been applied consistently.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It remains unclear exactly when and how many of these pesticides were used, with city staff noting in their statement that the tracking was \u201cinconsistent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe program has not been applied consistently at City-maintained areas, with the exception of City trails,\u201d wrote San Juan Capistrano City Manager Benjamin Siegel.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor other City-maintained areas, available records were insufficient to determine the specific nature and extent of pest management practices each time pesticides were used, or whether the landscape maintenance contractor consistently followed the prioritized approach,\u201d Siegel said.\u00a0<\/p>\n To read the full letter, click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moving forward, the city promised concerned residents to focus on \u201cimproved communication and coordination\u201d with any gardening contractors to ensure they\u2019re following the proper procedures.\u00a0<\/p>\n Irvine\u2019s Promise Came With An Ordinance\u00a0<\/p>\n Irvine was one of the first cities in the county to publicly swear off the use of herbicides, signing an ordinance into law that made the chemicals a last resort in 2016.<\/p>\n \u201cI live in Quail Hill, I\u2019m very pleased they\u2019ve moved into the organic sprays and pesticide,\u201d said then Councilwoman Christina Shea at the council\u2019s Feb. 23 2016 meeting. \u201cWe\u2019re moving forward in the right direction.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But in 2024, council members quietly rolled back that law to allow for its use in specific instances by the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, a nonprofit that manages the wildlife over much of the city\u2019s open space.\u00a0<\/p>\n While glyphosate remains banned for use in the city\u2019s parks and common areas, it\u2019s now used near the city\u2019s trails and open space.\u00a0<\/p>\n Scott Graves, a spokesperson for the conservancy, said the chemicals are useful in helping fight back invasive species and that the years where the city banned their use limited their efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen those chemicals were prohibited, it was definitely more of a challenge. Quail Hills became more degraded with artichoke thistle,\u201d Graves said in a March interview. \u201cIt\u2019s a struggle, we\u2019re still trying to remove them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Graves said they\u2019ve used herbicide spraying to help fight back against invasive plants near Quail Hill, and that they\u2019re continuing to follow the city\u2019s policies limiting its use.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe look at it as a tool of last resort,\u201d Graves said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t remove these invasive plants, they will set seed, their seed will go in, and it will take several years of grow kill cycles to deplete the invasive plants seeds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But many of the activists who fought for the ban to be implemented say the city went about it the wrong way by trying to quietly roll it back.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kim Konte, one of the activists who fought for the restrictions in the first place and later moved out of Irvine, said the use of pesticides in cities that pledged to restrict their use damages trust with the public, saying it created a \u201cfalse sense of security.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is the point of a policy if it\u2019s never followed?\u201d Konte said in an April interview. \u201cWho\u2019s overseeing implementation?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n She also pointed to studies showing that overuse of pesticides can lead to \u201csuper weeds<\/a>\u201d that resist the chemicals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a direct threat to public health,\u201d Konte said. \u201cPeriod.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Blumberg, the UCI professor, who helped campaign with Konte to many of the cities that adopted restrictions, said it was \u201cdisappointing\u201d to see so many places ignoring their own rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re doing just what they used to do,\u201d Blumberg said. \u201cThere really is no recourse other than the public voting those people out of office the next time they have a chance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n County Leaders Face Questions on Continued Herbicide Spraying\u00a0<\/p>\n County leaders are now facing questions over their own use of herbicides from a group of activists called Creek Team.\u00a0<\/p>\n In March, Supervisor Katrina Foley pledged to halt the spraying of any pesticides in the San Juan and Trabuco Creek flood channels for at least a year that lay within her district.\u00a0<\/p>\n [Read: Santana: Herbicide Spraying of South OC Waterways Halted, For Now<\/a>]<\/p>\n But activists confronted county contractors<\/a> spraying herbicides in the San Diego Creek in Irvine last week, with the crews leaving after they were questioned<\/a> by the activists on what they were spraying.\u00a0<\/p>\n OC Public Works staff confirmed a confrontation took place, but said it fell outside the area where Foley\u2019s program takes place, so spraying will continue.\u00a0<\/p>\n Foley\u2019s spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on this article.\u00a0<\/p>\n When questioned about continued use of herbicides on Facebook and specifically pointing to San Diego Creek, Foley said the decision isn\u2019t wholly up to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat area is not in my district and not the area where staff agreed to halt. Nothing changed from my position and efforts since we got ocpw to halt spraying in Trabuco & San Juan channels,\u201d Foley wrote. \u201cI support elimination of toxic chemicals from our community wherever possible. It\u2019s not a lone decision by me. I\u2019ll need board support and plan to bring forward recommendations later this year.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Brent Linas, one of the leaders of Creek Team who was at the San Diego Creek, said the cities in many instances have done a better job at dealing with the issue than the county has when they\u2019ve reached out.\u00a0<\/p>\n Linas specifically praised Costa Mesa, who has a policy limiting the use of chemical herbicides, and noted that when volunteers reached out with concerns the policy was violated city leaders quickly addressed the issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a really interesting lesson in civics in that the cities are like, \u2018We screwed up, this is a violation of what we want to do and hey we\u2019re going to work with you to figure this out,\u2019\u201d Linas said. \u201cCreek Team couldn\u2019t ask for more than that. We\u2019re not here to skewer people, we\u2019re just here to help.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe county is like \u2018Stay out of my business, you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about and you\u2019re threatening people\u2019s safety,\u2019\u201d he continued. \u201c\u2018We\u2019re going to do what we want cause you are irrelevant to us.\u2019 That really is the message Supervisor Foley sends and OC Public Works sends.\u201d<\/p>\n Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org. <\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/148A2614.jpg\")
Carolyn McCuan says spraying of glyphosate-based herbicides has harmed her health. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/148A2721.jpg\")
Carolyn McCuan touches landscaping lining a walkway at Los Rios Park in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_4103.jpg\")
Artichoke thistle, an invasive species in California, is especially susceptible to catching fire. Fire Watch volunteers look out for this kind of highly-flammed vegetation when deployed. Credit: ANGELINA HICKS, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TrabucoCanyon_Ortiz_SanJuanCapistrano_2026-5-1.jpg\")
A bird rests on a rock in Trabuco Creek on Friday, March 6, 2026, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Credit: BELLA ORTIZ, Voice of OC<\/p>\n