U.S. Senators Urge EPA to Ban Pesticide Linked to Parkinson’s

In an open letter, seven United States senators are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do what dozens of countries have already done and ban the toxic weedkiller paraquat, which has been associated with Parkinson’s disease and other serious health risks.

The October 31 letter addressed to EPA Administrator Michael Regan followed similar correspondence sent to the EPA by 47 Members of Congress earlier in the month, also calling for a ban on the controversial herbicide.

“Paraquat is a highly toxic pesticide whose continued use cannot be justified given its harms to farmworkers and rural communities. We write to urge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the use of paraquat in the United States,” the senators wrote in the letter.

In their letter, the lawmakers said some studies had found paraquat use to be associated with a 64 percent higher likelihood of developing Parkinson’s, thyroid cancer, non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and other thyroid problems, reported The Guardian.

“I hope the EPA will follow the science and ban paraquat,” said the letter’s organizer, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, as The Guardian reported.

According to the EPA, there is not a “clear link” between exposure to paraquat and Parkinson’s.

However, the EPA said it would review additional studies and issue a final report on the matter by mid-January of next year.

“For 60 years, paraquat has been helping fuel the rise of Parkinson’s disease,” said Ray Dorsey, a University of Rochester professor of neurology, as reported by The Guardian. “The evidence from human, laboratory and apparently even the company’s own research is overwhelming. When paraquat is banned, more lives will be spared the consequences of Parkinson’s.”

Syngenta, the Chinese manufacturer of paraquat products, has said that “a causal connection between paraquat and Parkinson’s disease” has not been established by a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

However, internal documents by the company revealed by The Guardian demonstrate that Syngenta had been aware for many years of scientific evidence of paraquat affecting the brain in similar ways to those that cause Parkinson’s, and had secretly tried to influence scientific research in order to counteract evidence of harm by the product.

Thousands of paraquat users in the U.S. who also suffer from Parkinson’s brought a lawsuit against Syngenta, alleging that the company had a responsibility to warn them of the potential of developing the disease, but that it instead attempted to conceal evidence of risk.

“Paraquat has been linked to Parkinson’s disease, thyroid cancer, and other health harms such as kidney, liver, and respiratory damage, and reproductive harm, including neurodevelopmental impact on developing fetuses. In rural areas, exposure to paraquat and other pesticides during pregnancy can increase the risk of leukemia,” the senators said in the letter. “Citing these and other risks, more than 70 countries have banned the use of paraquat, including China, Brazil, the European Union, and Turkey… We urge you to protect the health of farmworkers and rural residents by banning paraquat.”