Update appended
Thirteen states are weighing bills to prohibit use of the toxic weedkiller paraquat entirely or near public schools, signaling growing support for banning the chemical.
Hawaii (House and Senate), Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota (House and Senate), Missouri, New Jersey, New York (Assembly and Senate), Pennsylvania (House and Senate), Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Utah are so far considering legislation to ban paraquat use in their state or near public schools.
At least 70 countries have banned paraquat because it threatens the health of people exposed to the chemical. Paraquat has been linked to Parkinson’s disease, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, childhood leukemia and more.
Paraquat is primarily used to clear fields before farmers plant corn, soybeans, cotton, almonds, peanuts, wine grapes and other crops.
While much of the paraquat applied winds up in the soil for years, the chemical can also drift through the air or linger in dust. A recent Environmental Protection Agency review found paraquat can drift further than was previously thought.
This pesticide drift creates health concerns. Recent studies show workers and residents in areas with the highest use of the chemical face greater risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Syngenta makes paraquat in the United Kingdom. The Swiss-based company, which was acquired by a Chinese state-owned chemical conglomerate, has long understood the chemical’s health risks. But it spent decades hiding this knowledge from the public and the EPA.
Ironically, Chinese, U.K. and Swiss farmers are prohibited by their respective governments from using paraquat.
Parkinson’s and paraquat
Chronic exposure to paraquat increases the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by reducing the number of neurons in dopamine-producing parts of the brain. Researchers have used paraquat exposure in animals to study Parkinson’s disease.
A study using data from the National Institutes of Health found people who sprayed paraquat were more than twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease as those who applied other pesticides. And a meta-analysis of 13 studies found a 64% increase in the likelihood of developing Parkinson’s disease from paraquat exposure.
It’s not just the people applying the weedkiller who face health risks. Most recently, findings from researchers at UCLA show that people living or working within 500 meters, or about 1,640 feet, of paraquat application could more than double their odds of developing Parkinson’s.
Other health problems linked to paraquat include thyroid disease and cancer, impaired kidney function, childhood leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
EPA ignores the evidence
Like Syngenta, the EPA has long understood the risks posed by paraquat but has ignored the potential exposure faced by people working on farms or living nearby.
The agency assumes that people spraying paraquat will follow instructions designed to minimize drift and harm. But studies show “off label” use of pesticides is common, with virtually no enforcement. Two recent investigations in California and Pennsylvania found that paraquat is not always used according to the instructions on the label.
Citing the EPA’s long history of delay, states aren’t waiting for the agency to act. Federal pesticide law sets a floor, not a ceiling, on safeguards. To protect their citizens and public health, state and local governments have the power to enact measures such as a ban on paraquat.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include additional state paraquat bills.
