EPA Urged to Ban Paraquat
Challenges for a widely used herbicide…More than 50 U.S. lawmakers are urging the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the use of a weedkiller linked to Parkinson’s disease and other health risks to humans. In a letter to the agency, seven U.S. senators said that the use of paraquat, a chemical commonly used on farms across the country, cannot be justified given its harms to farmworkers and rural communities. The call for a nationwide ban came after 47 U.S. Representatives sent a similar letter to the EPA earlier in October. According to findings from a recent study, paraquat could more than double a person’s odds of developing Parkinson’s if not sprayed more than 500 meters from where people live and work.
In the United States, paraquat is available primarily as a liquid in various strengths. The US Environmental Protection Agency classifies paraquat as “restricted use.” This means that it can be used only by people who are licensed applicators.
Because paraquat is highly poisonous, the form that is marketed in the United States has a blue dye to keep it from being confused with beverages such as coffee, a sharp odor to serve as a warning, and an added agent to cause vomiting if someone drinks it.