The Environmental Protection Agency Requires A Residential Protection Buffer Zone Around Farms That Spray Paraquat

There is a growing concern for the health of the millions of Americans that live near farms and have to breathe paraquat-polluted air

Tuesday, August 3, 2021 - The risks of using or improperly storing paraquat have been exhaustively studied by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The agency has advised farmers to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and take other measures when spraying paraquat. The EPA is concerned that improperly storing paraquat invites accidental deaths by drinking the deadly chemical and advises readers that as little as one sip of paraquat can kill and there is no antidote. The EPA has found conflicting opinions about paraquat causing Parkinson's disease after reviewing hundreds of studies. The EPA has concluded that paraquat is safe if used as directed on the label. The EPA writes, "After a thorough review of the best available science, as required under FIFRA, EPA has not found a clear link between paraquat exposure from labeled uses and adverse health outcomes such as Parkinson's disease and cancer."

Of even greater concern, however, is the paraquat Parkinson's disease exposure for millions of people that live, work, and play in the communities that surround farms that spray paraquat. Studies are coming forward that claim repetitive low-dose inhalation of air that has been contaminated with paraquat could cause neurological damage like Parkinson's disease. In July of 2021, the EPA imposed new, more stringent restrictions on spraying paraquat including requiring a residential area drift buffer zone around paraquat spraying farms.

Paraquat drifts onto neighborhoods that surround farms that spray the herbicide. Farmers that directly use the chemical every day are the most susceptible to inhaling the fumes and developing Parkison's disease, a deadly neurological condition. Other occupational users of Paraquat, like landscapers, are coming forward with claims that they too have developed Parkinson's disease. Illinois landscape maintenance worker Scott Marsh has developed Parkinson's disease and filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Illinois. Mr. Marsh, a licensed paraquat applicator claims, according to AboutLawsuits.com, "he was regularly exposed to Paraquat from 1984 to 2000 at different sites across northern Illinois while working for a lawn care and maintenance company. He was a licensed Paraquat applicator, and part of his job included mixing Paraquat as well as filling tanks with the herbicide and applying it while servicing Commonwealth Edison stations across the state." Marsh's lawsuit claims that he inhaled or otherwise was exposed to paraquat and that Syngenta and Chevron, the makers of Gramoxone, the brand of paraquat he was using, failed to warn him of the risk of developing Parkinson's disease they knew of or had an obligation to know. Paraquat Parkinson disease attorneys are interviewing prospective clients that have been exposed to paraquat and developed the deadly disease. Hundreds of Paraquat Parkinson's Disease lawsuits have been consolidated in Federal Court in Illinois. A Colorado man also recently filed a Paraquat Parkinson's disease lawsuit claiming that paraquat drifted onto his community forcing him to breathe contaminated air that caused his disease.

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.