Members of Congress Seek Paraquat End

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it has yet to find a scientific link between the use of the herbicide paraquat and Parkinson's disease, 47 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the head of the agency to ban the chemical.

At the end of January 2024, EPA released a report on the ongoing review of paraquat. That ongoing review is being conducted in response to a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice on behalf of farmworkers, public health and environmental groups.

"Due to the significant human health and environmental concerns associated with paraquat, roughly 70 countries have banned or discontinued the use of paraquat, including China, Brazil, the European Union and Canada," the lawmakers said in a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

"We urge the EPA to change course and deliver critical protections for farmworkers, agricultural communities and the environment by banning paraquat."

EPA said in January 2024 that it plans to implement additional information on the disease as well as other information in a new review document slated for completion by Jan. 17, 2025. In its report earlier this year the agency stopped short of implementing new mitigation measures on paraquat applications.

The lawmakers led by Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, told Regan the chemical is particularly dangerous for farmworkers. The letter is signed by lawmakers mostly from California and joined by others from New York, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Illinois and other states.

"Findings from researchers at UCLA found that paraquat sprayed within 500 meters of where people live and work can more than double a person's odds of developing Parkinson's disease," the letter said.

The lawmakers pointed to a study by the Environmental Working Group as reason to ban the chemical.

The EWG study found 66% of all paraquat use in California was in five majority Latino counties and 65% of applications occurred in low-income areas, the letter said.

"Currently, the EPA has banned the use of paraquat for certain areas like golf courses and recreational parks," the lawmakers said to Regan.

"We should expand this ban to protect those who are at high risk because of the use of this dangerous herbicide."

EPA also issued a review decision in 2021 on the chemical, re-approving paraquat's registration.

The petitioning groups raised several issues about that decision, including potential connections to Parkinson's. At that point, EPA added several additional mitigation measures to prevent human exposure to paraquat.

"While the agency found potential risks of concern for aerial applications above 350 acres per applicator in a 24-hour period, EPA did not consider those risks unreasonable in light of the critical need for paraquat in cotton desiccation," the agency said in its latest review.

EPA said prohibiting aerial applications above 350 acres per applicator in 24 hours would have had "significant impacts" on growers who need paraquat for cotton desiccation. Such applications typically involve larger field sizes and the timing of harvest can be crucial to yield and quality outcomes.

EPA said in January 2024 that it had not reviewed all recent information on paraquat and Parkinson's disease and it will continue to seek public comment on the potential risks of using paraquat as a harvest aid.

Thousands of lawsuits have been filed against paraquat's registrants Syngenta and Chevron Chemical Company in the past several years, primarily product liability claims and alleged connections between the chemical and Parkinson's.

Use of paraquat, which is sold under brand names such as Gramaxone, Firestorm and Parazone among others, has increased steadily in the U.S. in the past decade, in response to the development of herbicide-resistant weeds.

Read more on DTN:

"EPA: No Paraquat Link to Parkinson's," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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