The EPA Stands Alone In Its Support Of Paraquat Safety

There may be no other way to explain the increase in the number of cases of Parkinson's disease other than the increase in spraying agricultural herbicides

Monday, September 20, 2021 - Study after study reinforces the link between using an agricultural herbicide and developing Parkinson's disease. Hundreds of farmers, farmworkers, and people who live, work or play near farms that spray paraquat, have filed Paraquat Parkinson's disease lawsuits claiming that they developed the deadly neurological disorder from breathing in its fumes. Studies find that repetitive low-dose inhalation of paraquat can damage the cells in the brain that make dopamine, a critical neurological transmitter of motor skill information between cells. Despite the obvious connection that is being established by the scientific community, the environmental protection agency (EPA) has failed to ban paraquat in the United States and has renewed its license for another 15 years. The EPA website now claims that they have demanded stronger safety measures, however the restrictions run far short of outlawing the chemical's use. On August 2, 2021, the agency released its final decision on paraquat restrictions. Environmentalists think the demands are more lenient and pro-business than the recommendations made by the previous administration in Washington, DC. The EPA sides with farmers that support using the chemical saying that "after reviewing the best available science as required under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act of 1947, the agency has not found a clear link between paraquat exposure from labeled uses and adverse health outcomes such as Parkinson’s disease and cancer," according to SafetyandHealth magazine.

Regardless of the EPA's stance on the chemical's safety when used as directed, about fifty other countries including those in the European Union, China, and elsewhere have all banned the use of the chemical. Hundreds of people from around the world have died from drinking paraquat either accidentally or on purpose. Lawsuits filed by farmers and the farm communities claim they developed Parkinson's disease. Bloomberg reports on the number of lawsuits that are expected to grow exponentially. "At the start of 2021, only a handful of lawsuits over Paraquat were making their way through state and federal courts in the U.S. Since February, there have been more than 400 new complaints filed in federal courts alone." One paraquat lawyer involved in paraquat litigation expects more than 35,000 plaintiffs eventually according to YahooFinanceNews. Lawyers have reacted to Syngenta's offer to settle a block of these Paraquat Parkinson's disease accusations for $187 as the tip of the iceberg and could indicate that the company expects to have to pay billions in the future should the cases make it to court. Daubert hearings digging deeper into the science that underlies the connection between using paraquat and developing Parkinson's disease could be the evidence that plaintiffs need to make their case. Perhaps the strongest piece of evidence linking paraquat to Parkinson's disease is MIT studies that claim there could be nothing else to blame for the explosion in the number of cases of Parkinson's disease over the last 30 years than the exponential proliferation of the use of agricultural herbicides like glyphosate or paraquat. The research claims that there has not been a global genetic mutation significant enough to account for the increase in Parkinson's diagnosis and that only the introduction of an environmental stimulus could have caused so many cases. The expanded agricultural use of paraquat and glyphosate fits the bill.

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.