Environmental Groups Fight To Ban Paraquat A Deadly Chemical The Company Calls A Useful Technology

Syngenta hid their knowledge that the emetic added to paraquat was insufficient to do the job

Thursday, February 10, 2022 - Paraquat is lethal to human beings and animals when ingested orally by swallowing. It only takes one small sip to cause instant death and for that reason, more than 33 countries including Switzerland, where Syngenta, the maker of paraquat is headquartered, have banned using the defoliant. Many environmental and human health protection organizations think paraquat should be banned worldwide, if for no other reason than to punish Syngenta for the thousands of accidental human deaths it has caused and also for the thousands of suicides it has enabled. "It is one of the most toxic herbicides in the world. In most cases, a single sip can kill and in cases of poisoning, there are no antidotes available," explains Public Eye when explaining paraquat dangers. In addition, Greenpeace.org denounced the substance saying: "(Paraquat) has caused tens of thousands of deaths worldwide" since its introduction in the 1960s," according to Eldesconcierto.cl. Thousands of paraquat lawsuits have been registered to be filed in the US, accusing Syngenta of failing to warn about the lethality of paraquat since 1990. Plaintiffs cite the work of a toxicologist at the company who thinks there has been a decades-long coverup of Syngenta's paraquat wrongdoings.

A company whistleblower has come forward, having worked for Syngenta for 22 years, to tell a story called the Paraquat Papers wherein the company had covered-up knowledge that the emetic being added to paraquat to induce vomiting would not work as intended. "John Heylings, a toxicologist who worked for 22 years at Syngenta, commented that the company was aware of the ineffectiveness of its emetic (a substance to cause vomiting) in Paraquat," EldesConcerto wrote. Syngenta is accused of using bad science to cover up knowing about the ineffectiveness of the emetic and for keeping paraquat on the market in the United States for so long. Over 50 countries have banned using paraquat because of the thousands of human deaths it has caused. Paraquat had been sold around the world starting in 1960 and thousands of accidental human deaths have been reported by hundreds of countries from the United States to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka banned paraquat after a teenage girl died from drinking paraquat after attempting to scare her parents by pretending to commit suicide. "The Sri Lankan authorities said the death rate from paraquat poisoning was at 65% -- higher than "any other agrochemical". Other common weedkillers had death rates of between 4% and 8%."

To this day, Chinese - owned Syngenta continues to produce and sell paraquat to the United States and the official company policy is that the chemical is safe when used as directed. Company spokespersons tell reporters that virtually any modern technological invention from high-rise buildings to bridges, to automobiles, and of course firearms, could be used to commit suicide and that those concerned should spend their time researching mental health issues and not attempt to "deprive the world of useful technology." Unearthed.GreenPeace.org tells readers that Jon Heylings, a senior toxicologist at Syngenta, told the company over and over for more than a decade that the amount of emetic the company was adding to paraquat to induce vomiting and prevent accidental deaths was too little to do any good, and that the company ignored his warnings because his they would be too expensive to implement.

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