Thousands of American farmers suffer from Parkinson's disease, and a flood of lawsuits are being filed blaming the deadly pesticide paraquat.
Although the herbicide 'paraquat' is designated as a poison in Japan, its use continues in the United States, where several lawsuits have been filed alleging that 'paraquat use caused Parkinson's disease.' MLive, a local Michigan media outlet, has compiled a summary of the current situation.
Paraquat, a pesticide sprayed on US farms, blamed for Parkinson's in lawsuit - mlive.com
Paraquat is known to be highly toxic and its use has been banned in dozens of countries around the world, including China and the UK, but it is sold in the US by Chinese subsidiary Syngenta and others. However, there have been many confirmed cases of farmers who have used paraquat for many years developing Parkinson's disease, and several lawsuits have been filed alleging that paraquat is the cause of the Parkinson's disease that farmers have developed.
Paraquat has been widely used as a pesticide in the United States since 1960, but as of the time of writing, it is subject to regulation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which requires its use only by licensed personnel. Furthermore, the agency requires the addition of blue dyes, strong odors, and emetics to prevent potential exposure. Despite these measures, hundreds of paraquat-related reports are expected in the decade leading up to 2025.
Paraquat can cause health problems not only when ingested but also when it comes into contact with the skin, and in the worst cases can be fatal. This has led to the idea that 'even if it doesn't cause any problems now, it could have an impact on health in the future.'
Ruth Ann Krauss lost her husband of 58 years to Parkinson's disease and his death in 2024. Krauss's husband ran a farm for decades and often sprayed paraquat while wearing a mask and rubber boots. Krauss is one of thousands of people suing pesticide manufacturer Syngenta and distributor Chevron over paraquat exposure. Krauss and other plaintiffs claim that 'despite being aware of the potential for paraquat to damage human nerve cells, they failed to warn of the dangers and concealed research showing a link to Parkinson's disease.'
However, despite warnings of the risks, no evidence has been found to suggest a link between paraquat and Parkinson's disease.
Chevron points out that 'hundreds of studies conducted over the past 60 years have not reached a scientific consensus that paraquat causes Parkinson's disease,' and has long maintained that it should not be held responsible in any paraquat lawsuits because it has never manufactured paraquat and has not sold it since 1986.
A Syngenta spokesperson told Mlive: 'We have deep sympathy for those who suffer from the effects of Parkinson's disease, but it is important to note that scientific evidence does not support a causal relationship between paraquat and Parkinson's disease and that paraquat is safe when used as directed.'
However, the backlash against paraquat is enormous, with 6,400 lawsuits filed against Syngenta and Chevron in Illinois alone by 2025, plus 1,300 in Pennsylvania, 450 in California, and more scattered across other state courts.
According to Syngenta, it settled an undisclosed number of lawsuits in California and Illinois in 2021 for $187.5 million, but none of the cases went to trial.
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