More Surprising Information About The EPA's Support Of Paraquat

It defies logic that the EPA feels the need to severely regulate a farm product it thinks is safe

Monday, August 30, 2021 - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) insists that paraquat is safe if used as directed, however, the agency recently placed new restrictions on how farmers apply the defoliant. Overall, the EPA's regulations are more lenient on the farm business than the previous regulations proposed by the pro-business Trump administration. Restrictions were placed that prohibits using a pressurized handgun and backpack sprayers and anyone from being on the ground (human flaggers) during tractor or aerosol spraying. The EPA also requires farmers to place a buffer zone around farms where paraquat may not be sprayed to limit the amount of the deadly defoliant that can drift onto nearby residential and business areas. People living, working, and playing in neighborhoods that surround farms that spray paraquat have filed Paraquat Parkinson's disease lawsuits seeking monetary compensation for their expenses and punitive damages. It remains to be seen if the new buffer zone will be effective. The final highlight of the new paraquat restrictions limits the amount of paraquat that may be sprayed to 350 acres per 24-hour period, however, there is no limit to the amount if it is sprayed just before harvest time to dry out the crop. The EPA rules "Require enclosed cabs if the area treated in a 24-hour period is more than 80 acres, and enclosed cabs or PF10 respirators if the area treated in a 24-hour period is 80 acres or less. Other EPA restrictions that were enacted include: "limiting the maximum application rate for alfalfa to one pound of paraquat cation per acre, requiring enclosed cabs if the area treated in a 24-hour period is more than 80 acres, requiring enclosed cabs or PF10 respirators if the area treated in a 24-hour period is 80 acres or less, requiring a 7-day restricted entry interval (REI) for cotton desiccation, requiring a 48-hour REI for all crops and uses except cotton desiccation, and requiring mandatory spray drift management label language," as per the EPA web site.

Environmentalists feel betrayed that the new EPA has chosen to side with big business at the expense of environmental and human health. Study after study shows that people who inhale low doses of paraquat regularly for more than a year may develop Parkinson's disease later in life. Hundreds of farmers and others that live in close proximity to farms or utilities that spray paraquat have hired a Paraquat Parkinson's disease attorney to file a claim against Syngenta, the maker of paraquat. Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told Modern Health.com, "Instead of banning a weedkiller linked to Parkinson's disease in farm workers, reproductive harm in small mammals, and increased death rates for birds, this administration is bowing to the wishes of the chemical industry and allowing it to be sprayed on crops from the air." For the record, the EPA all but ignores utilities and other government agencies that spray paraquat underneath and around electrical wires through forests and fields.

Lawyers for Paraquat Lawsuits

Attorneys handling Paraquat Lawsuits for leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma offer free, no-obligation case review for individuals and families who believe they may have grounds to file a paraquat Parkinson's lawsuit. Working on a contingency basis, these attorneys are committed to never charging legal fees unless they win compensation in your paraquat Parkinson's lawsuit. The product liability litigators handling Roundup claims at the Onder Law Firm have a strong track record of success in representing families harmed by dangerous drugs and consumer products.