Amending the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act of 1972 (FIFRA) Could Bring An End To Paraquat In The US

Senator Cory Booker understands that living in an agricultural community places all families at risk of exposure to dangerous nerve agents.

Friday, December 3, 2021 - The United States Congress is throwing its weight behind the efforts of environmentally concerned organizations like the Environmental Working Group, and those fighting Parkinson's disease like the Michael J. Fox Foundation and writing bills that would ban paraquat, a deadly defoliant, in all of its forms in the United States. The latest to take up the mantle of protecting the environment and the lives of farmworkers and others is U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). On November 23, Senator Booker announced the Protect America's Children from Toxic Pesticides Act of 2021 (PACTPA) a bill intended to ban dangerous pesticides in the farm system. Paraquat is the most highly toxic chemical in a list of 100 that Booker hopes to rid from the farm system. Experts believe that only one sip of paraquat is enough to kill a person. So concerned with paraquat's lethal toxicity is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that they ordered Syngenta, the maker of paraquat to die the chemical bright blue so as not to be accidentally mistaken for being a soft drink by children, and also infusing the mixture with an odor that would distinguish the chemical from any other. Unfortunately for paraquat's defenders, the paraquat’s foul odor is proof that the chemical drifts through the air and is being inhaled by millions of people that live, work, and play near farms that spray it on their crops to kill weeds and also to dry it out just before harvesting. People that have filed paraquat paraquat lawsuits allege that the smell of paraquat is constantly in the air, concrete proof that the chemical drifts away from farms and that innocent people, including children are inhaling it.

Senator Booker acknowledges the difficulty in taking deadly chemicals off of the market due to the long length of time that their licenses. The EPA recently renewed paraquat's license for 15 years before the agency will take up the cause and review the health ramifications again. "Once they're approved, pesticides often remain on the market for decades, even when scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows a pesticide is causing harm to people or the environment. Farmworkers are often exposed to dangerous and toxic pesticides, risking their health as they work to provide our food. It is imperative that we address this issue directly by updating our laws in order to protect farmworkers, frontline communities, and our environment." Booker said. Booker also understands that not only farmworkers are at risk from paraquat dangers, but also millions in nearby communities when quoting Teresa Romero, President of the United Farm Workers of America. "Just living in an agricultural community places farmworker families at the front lines of exposure to dangerous nerve agents." Booker's paraquat health concerns are echoed by Iris Figueroa, Director of Economic and Environmental Justice, Farmworker Justice. W. Glass, EPA policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity, and odd Sherer, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Research Strategy of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, who have all weighed in on the topic.

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