Goutweed, aka Bishops Weed and Snow on the Mountain, is an invasive plant species that is still being sold by many nurseries as a desireable plant, ground cover. I jave not seen anything in the literature to indicate that this plant can, or will cause a rash, however each of us is different and we react to plants in different way. I would look closely at what else is there though, in particular Poison Ivy which likes the same growing and soil conditions.
If you choose to use a poison to control this read and follow the label directions very carefully before using it. Do not assume someone else knows how, even a "licensed" applicator.

Thanks for the advice!

Well, I've spent a few more hours on each of the past 2 days preparing the beds. More cultivation with the garden claw, which did a nice job of loosening the soil and broke up some of the roots, then raking to collect the rhizomes and roots. This morning's task (as the rain began to fall) was hand-pulling the remaining rhizomes, plus lots of digging around bare-handed trying to find remaining rhizomes that were still buried under the tilled soil. I think I got most/all of the goutweed from the one-third of the patch that I've worked. At this pace, it will take another 20 hours or so to clear the rest of the bed, and it's just one of four!

I ended up not using the round-up yet. Perhaps I won't have to -- I'd rather not. I'll be careful if I do choose it.

I did plant a patch of onion sets this morning, and a row of peas. Hopefully they can get a good head start on the return of the goutweed!

I just had a very extreme reaction to goutweed… I deadheaded the flowers so i could stop the reseeding cycle, and eight hours later my right hand, wrist and forearm were under an attack akin to gout, swollen and horrific shooting pains. initially thought it might be a sprain or overuse of the hand clippers. my hand is so swollen i cannot bend my fingers in or use them… I suspect that i got sap from the cut stems as i was reaching among the plants to deadhead. THIS IS A DANGEROUS PLANT it may be edible by some people, but who would want to even chance eating it to see if one is indeed allergic. my variegated goutweed has stayed constrained since its planting in 1977 but a whole section of it went rogue, losing its variegation and growing supersize. the seedheads grow to 30 inches high and indeed has caused new babies in places where runners were not the cause….. three days of complete incapacity of my right hand and wrist and horrific pain that painkillers did not even touch are not worth any plant.

UPDATE: i have decided to eradicate it completely which will entail digging out all the soil, pulling out as much of the roots, runners and plants, spreading the soil on black plastic and leting the sun dry it out while i sift through to find even the tiniest of roots. Wait a week or two to see if anything sprouts again and then replant with something more constrained and not a threat to anyone allergic to it…. i intend to live here another thirty years and never want to see it again…. maybe it was called goutweed because in those severely allergic to it the reaction was akin to a case of gout itself, and homepathically a very dilute amount of it would perhaps treat gout…..

Some people get an allergic reaction from Aegopodium podagraria, but it is by no means universal. Indeed, it is an edible plant. Since it largely spreads by runners and roots removing seed heads will have little impact. You need to get the roots out.