Tag Archives: paraquat

Herbicide, News

Studies show that paraquat is linked to Parkinson’s disease and a host of other serious side effects

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From Wisner Baum

Pursuing Justice on Behalf of Our Clients for Nearly 40 Years

Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1985, the law firm of Wisner Baum has earned a reputation for breaking new legal ground, holding major corporations accountable, influencing public policy, and raising public awareness about important safety issues. Our trial experience across a broad range of practice areas includes over $4 billion in verdicts and settlements.

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What is Paraquat?

Paraquat dichloride is a non-selective, broad-spectrum herbicide used primarily to kill weeds and grass. Austrian chemist Hugo Weidel and his student, M. Russo, discovered paraquat in the 1880s. Roughly 50 years later, scientists Michaelis and Hill discovered the chemical’s redox properties and named the compound methyl viologen. Scientists discovered the chemical’s weed-killing properties in the late 1950s.

Commercially introduced in 1962 as Gramoxone, paraquat quickly became a top-selling herbicide despite numerous studies linking the herbicide to wide-ranging health issues. The rise in paraquat use coincided with the surge in no-till farming in the U.S. and worldwide.

Common Paraquat Products

Syngenta and Chevron are two of the largest paraquat producers. Some of the most common paraquat products include:

  • Blanco
  • Bonedry
  • Cyclone SL 2.0
  • Devour
  • Firestorm
  • Gramoxone
  • Helmquat 3SL
  • Para-Shot 3.0
  • Paraquate Concentrate

Common Paraquat Side Effects

Research shows that paraquat exposure is dangerous, even at low levels. Paraquat side effects depend on the amount, route, and duration of exposure to the herbicide and the person’s overall health. The herbicide enters the body via:

  • Skin: Contact or penetration of the skin, mucous membranes, and other epithelial tissues (including the mouth, nose, trachea, and conducting airways, particularly where cuts, abrasions, rashes, sores, or other tissue damage are present).
  • Inhalation: Spray droplets enter the nose or mouth.
  • Ingestion: The liquid chemical is swallowed.

Acute Exposure – Paraquat Poisoning

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “one small sip [of paraquat] can be fatal, and there is no antidote.” In general, people who accidentally or intentionally ingest paraquat may experience any of the following symptoms:

  • Acute kidney failure
  • Coma
  • Confusion
  • Heart issues
  • Liver failure
  • Lung scarring
  • Muscle weakness
  • Pulmonary edema
  • Respiratory failure possibly leads to death
  • Seizures

While these cases are rare, paraquat poisoning may also occur via skin contact or inhalation. This report out of China highlights the potential for paraquat poisoning via skin absorption, and this report highlights the potential for paraquat poisoning via inhalation.

Paraquat Parkinson’s Disease Link

The body of scientific research linking paraquat and Parkinson’s disease (often referred to simply as “PD”) has continued to grow in recent years. Several studies have concluded that exposure to paraquat increases the likelihood of developing Parkinson’s disease and that the effect is dose-dependent. The research suggests that farmworkers and pesticide applicators are more at risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. People who live near fields and other areas where paraquat is heavily used may also be more at risk for PD.

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Chemical Sprays, Corporations, News

Secret “Paraquat Papers” Reveal Corporate Tactics to Protect Weed Killer Linked to Parkinson’s Disease

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The poisoners are still at it … corporations rule … EWR

From The New Lede
Posted at Sustainable Pulse

For decades, Swiss chemical giant Syngenta has manufactured and marketed a widely used weed killing chemical called paraquat, and for much of that time the company has been dealing with external concerns that long-term exposure to the chemical may cause the dreaded, incurable brain ailment known as Parkinson’s disease.

Syngenta has repeatedly told customers and regulators that scientific research does not prove a connection between its weed killer and the disease, insisting that the chemical does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier, and does not affect brain cells in ways that cause Parkinson’s.

But a cache of internal corporate documents dating back to the 1950s obtained by The New Lede in a reporting collaboration with the Guardian suggests that the public narrative put forward by Syngenta and the corporate entities that preceded it has at times contradicted the company’s own research and knowledge.

And though the documents reviewed do not show that Syngenta’s scientists and executives believed that paraquat can cause Parkinson’s, they do show a corporate focus on strategies to protect product sales, refute external scientific research and influence regulators.

In one defensive tactic, the documents lay out how the company worked behind the scenes to try to keep a highly regarded scientist from sitting on an advisory panel for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The agency is the chief US regulator for paraquat and other pesticides. Company officials wanted to make sure the efforts could not be traced back to Syngenta, the documents show.

And the documents show that insiders feared they could face legal liability for long-term, chronic effects of paraquat as long ago as 1975. One company scientist called the situation “a quite terrible problem,” for which “some plan could be made….”

That prediction of legal consequences has come to pass. Thousands of people who allege they developed Parkinson’s because of long-term chronic effects of paraquat exposure are now suing Syngenta. Along with Syngenta, they are also suing Chevron USA, the successor to a company that distributed paraquat in the US  from 1966 to 1986. Both companies deny any liability and continue to maintain that scientific evidence does not support a causal link between paraquat and Parkinson’s disease.

“Recent thorough reviews performed by the most advanced and science-based regulatory authorities, including the United States and Australia, continue to support the view that paraquat is safe,” Syngenta said in a statement.

Chevron issued a statement saying that the company and predecessors had no role in causing the plaintiffs’ illnesses, and it “will vigorously defend against the allegations in the lawsuits.”

As part of a court-ordered disclosure in the litigation, the companies provided plaintiffs’ lawyers with decades of internal records, including hand-written and typed memos, internal presentations, and emails to and from scientists, lawyers and company officials around the world. And though the files have not yet been made public through the court system, The New Lede and the Guardian reviewed hundreds of pages of these documents.

Among the revelations from the documents: Scientists with Syngenta predecessor Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd. (ICI) and Chevron Chemical were aware in the 1960s and 70s of mounting evidence showing paraquat could accumulate in the human brain.

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Photo: sustainablepulse.com