There Is No Room for Error When It Comes To Mishandling Paraquat

When it comes to getting paraquat on your skin, drinking it, or even inhaling it, one mistake and you're dead

Thursday, April 21, 2022 - Pesticide and herbicide regulators at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others on the local level are concerned with the accidental deaths attributed to mishandling and misusing the deadly defoliant Paraquat. GoodFruit.com quoted Christopher Sutherland, a pesticide compliance investigator with the Washington State Department of Agriculture as telling attendees at a wine grape industry conference earlier in the year, "It's important to pay attention to paraquat label changes. It's (Paraquat) the only herbicide that I'm aware of that kills you the first time if you misuse it." Farmworkers who have handled paraquat in the past have filed paraquat Paraquat Parkinson's disease lawsuits attempting to hold the manufacturers accountable for failing to warn them of the dangers. EPA admits that inhaling paraquat vapor can damage health but said they do not confirm the paraquat Parkinson's disease connection.

Paraquat is a restricted use herbicide meaning that those who purchase or apply the product must first be trained, tested, and licensed. Last year, the EPA renewed Syngenta's license to manufacture and sell paraquat in the United States for another 15-years to the chagrin of environmental health activists who have filed legal challenges to the decision. Paraquat is banned in China, Switzerland, and about 30 other countries. The concerns that the EPA stated recently were the result of the 17 deaths since 2000 from accidentally drinking paraquat. Three children died after drinking paraquat that was stored illegally in a soft drink container. No antidote exists for paraquat poisoning, and as little as a sip can cause instant death. EPA recently issued an update to the label warnings on paraquat to make it less likely to be transferred and mistaken as a soft drink. Scientific studies link inhaling paraquat with an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a fatal neurological disorder.

Aerial spraying of paraquat is one of the great concerns for EPA as individuals on the ground on the farm or in surrounding communities could ingest paraquat and become deathly ill by either inhaling it or getting it on their skin. Farmers are required to leave a vacant a buffer zone around their perimeter between where paraquat is sprayed and the end of the field. According to Good Fruit.com, " (Aerial spraying) requires a residential area drift buffer for all aerial applications (Residential areas include schools, homes, playgrounds, parks, recreational areas, athletic fields, residential lawns, gardens, and other areas where children may be present.) Paraquat spraying is further restricted and limited to 350 acres in any 24 hours." Other items of concern for the EPA where stricter label requirements were published on containers of paraquat pertain to banning the use of "flaggers." Flaggers are farmworkers that walk the fields with brightly-colored flags to guide crop duster airplanes spraying paraquat over their desired target. One farmworker who developed Parkinson's disease is suing Syngenta and Chevron, the makers of paraquat for failing to warn him and others to use personal protection equipment (PPE) saying he would often come home drenched in paraquat after a day's work.

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.