Parkinson’s disease

November 1, 2024

US Congress members call on EPA to ban paraquat, citing risk of Parkinson’s and other diseases

By Carey Gillam

More than 50 US lawmakers are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to join dozens of other nations in banning a widely used weed killer linked to Parkinson’s disease and other health dangers.

In an Oct 31 letter to the agency, seven US senators said that paraquat, a weed killer commonly applied on US farms, was a “highly toxic pesticide whose continued use cannot be justified given its harms to farmworkers and rural communities.” The call for a ban from the senators came after 47 members of the US House of Representatives sent a similar letter to the EPA calling for a ban earlier in October.

The lawmakers cite scientific links between paraquat use and development of Parkinson’s and other “life threatening diseases” as well as “grave impacts on the environment”. The lawmakers note that approximately 70 countries have banned paraquat.

“Numerous studies” have found that paraquat causes “serious health risks for workers who use the substance as well as the surrounding communities,” the lawmakers wrote. “These health risks include a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease, with some studies finding a 64% increase in the likelihood of developing Parkinson’s, non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, thyroid cancer, and other thyroid issues.”

Sen. Cory Booker, organizer of the Senate letter, said the risks of paraquat exposure are “well documented” and that it is “irresponsible” for the EPA to continue to allow its use. “I hope the EPA will follow the science and ban paraquat,” Booker said.

The congressional letters add to mounting pressure on the EPA to remove paraquat from the market.

September 27, 2024

“Defend or be damned” – How a US company uses government funds to suppress pesticide opposition around the world

By Carey Gillam, Margot Gibbs and Elena DeBre

In 2017, two United Nations experts called for a treaty to strictly regulate dangerous pesticides, which they said were a “global human rights concern”, citing scientific research showing pesticides can cause cancers, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and other health problems.

Publicly, the industry’s lead trade association dubbed the recommendations “unfounded and sensational assertions”. In private, industry advocates have gone further.

Derogatory profiles of the two UN experts, Hilal Elver and Baskut Tuncak, are hosted on an online private “social network” portal for pesticide company employees and a range of influential allies.

Members of the network can access a wide range of personal information about hundreds of individuals from around the world deemed a threat to industry interests, including US food writers Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman, the Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva and the Nigerian activist Nnimmo Bassey. Many profiles include personal details such as the names of family members, phone numbers, home addresses and even house values.

The profiling is part of a broad campaign – that was financed partly with US taxpayers dollars – to downplay pesticide dangers, discredit opponents, and undermine international policymaking harmful to the pesticide industry, according to court records, emails and other documents obtained by the non-profit newsroom Lighthouse Reports in an investigative reporting collaboration with The New Lede, the Guardian, and other international media partners.

The efforts were spearheaded by a “reputation management” firm in Missouri called v-Fluence. The company, founded by former Monsanto executive Jay Byrne, provides self-described services that include “intelligence gathering”, “proprietary data mining” and “risk communications”.

The revelations demonstrate how industry advocates established a “private social network” to counter resistance to pesticides and genetically modified (GM) crops in Africa, Europe and other parts of the world, while also denigrating organic and other alternative farming methods. More than 30 current government officials are on the membership list of the private network, most of whom are from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Elver, who is now a university research professor and a member of a United Nations food security committee, said public money would have been better spent on scientific research into the health impacts of pesticides than on profiling people such as herself.

“Instead of understanding the scientific reality, they try and shoot the messenger. It is really hard to believe,” she said.

Author Michael Pollan’s profile portrays him as an “ardent opponent” of industrial agriculture and (GM) crops and a proponent of organic farming. His profile includes a long list of criticisms and details such as the names of his siblings, parents, son and brother-in-law.

“It’s one thing to have an industry come after you after publishing a critical article. This happens all the time in journalism,” Pollan said. “But to have your own government pay for it is outrageous. These are my tax dollars at work.”

August 30, 2024

California passes law ordering review of paraquat weed killer

By Carey Gillam

Efforts by some California lawmakers to ban the controversial weed killing chemical paraquat ended this week with passage of a law that keeps the chemical in use but requires a reevaluation by regulators within the next five years.

Backers of a ban cited scientific evidence linking paraquat to a range of health problems, including the incurable brain disease known as Parkinson’s, as a key reason to outlaw paraquat use in the state.

The California State Assembly earlier this year had approved what was referred to as a “moratorium” on paraquat that would have taken effect in January 2026 and provided for a process that have would have given state regulators an opportunity to reevaluate paraquat and potentially reapprove the chemical with or without new restrictions.

But state Senate amendments killed any moratorium or restriction on use. The bill, as passed, now only requires state pesticide regulators to complete a reevaluation of paraquat by January 2029.

California Assemblymember Laura Friedman said the fact that the legislature passed requirements for a regulatory reevaluation is still a win.

“With the mounting medical evidence indicating that paraquat is simply too toxic to remain in wide use, I am very confident that [state regulators] will not only do a thorough re-evaluation of paraquat, but either ban it outright or place greater restrictions on its use,” Friedman said in a statement.

pieter-van-de-sande-NafRX_hGvEU-unsplash

June 6, 2024

Lawsuit alleges company illegally discharged cancer-causing TCE for decades

By Shannon Kelleher and Carey Gillam

A Mississippi auto parts company illegally dumped toxic waste for more than 50 years, poisoning workers and sparking a cluster of cancer cases, according to a lawsuit filed this week by a group of former employees.

The lawsuit, filed June 4 in the US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, names EnPro Industries and multiple other corporate entities as defendants in the case, alleging they participated in illegally discharging trichloroethylene (TCE) into the environment, contaminating soil, air and groundwater, and knowingly exposing workers to the cancer-causing chemical.

“This greedy company cheated to cut costs at the expense of human health and risking countless lives,” Nick Rowley, co-founder of the national public interest law firm Trial Lawyers for Justice, said in a press release. “The scope and scale of harms and losses caused by this wrongdoing is devastating.”

TCE is a clear, colorless liquid that is used as a degreasing solvent and dry cleaning agent, among other uses. It is considered a human carcinogen by the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The chemical is also known to damage the heart, liver, kidneys, and many other organs in the human body. It can also break down into other chemicals known to cause cancer in humans, including vinyl chloride. As well, a recent study found “circumstantial” evidence linking TCE to the doubling of global Parkinson’s disease diagnoses over the past 30 years

TCE can be found in the drinking water of 19 million people, according to the Environmental Working Group.

The EPA has recently proposed banning all uses of TCE, but the chemical industry is fighting the move. The American Chemistry Council asserts TCE is valuable for many industrial uses.

May 30, 2024

Paraquat ban stays alive, advances in California

By Carey Gillam

A proposal to ban the weed killing chemical paraquat cleared the California State Assembly last week and now faces a fight in the State Senate over what would be the first such ban in the country.

The ban would take effect Jan. 1, 2026, outlawing the “use, manufacture, sale, delivery, holding, or offering for sale in commerce” of any pesticide product that contains paraquat. The bill provides for a process that allows state regulators to reevaluate paraquat and potentially reapprove it with or without new restrictions.

A chief concern cited by backers of the bill is research linking chronic paraquat exposure to Parkinson’s disease, an incurable and debilitating brain disease considered a top cause of death in the United States.

The final vote in the Assembly was 46-16 in favor of the bill, but opposition is expected to be stronger in the Senate, according to staffers with the office of Assemblymember Laura Friedman, who introduced the measure. California’s Senate Policy Committee is expected to take it up sometime before July 4, they said.

Friedman partnered with the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to introduce the proposed ban. An EWG analysis found that paraquat is disproportionately sprayed in areas of California largely inhabited by Latino farmworkers and their families.

The action to ban paraquat in California comes as several thousand farmers, agricultural workers and others are suing paraquat maker Syngenta, alleging they developed Parkinson’s because of long-term chronic effects of paraquat.

May 17, 2024

California paraquat ban moves forward

By Carey Gillam

California has moved a step closer to banning the controversial weed killing chemical paraquat after a key state legislative committee on Thursday allowed the measure to proceed.

Several thousand farmers, agricultural workers and others are suing paraquat maker Syngenta, alleging they developed Parkinson’s because of long-term chronic effects of paraquat.

“California is the breadbasket of the nation. Farm workers put food on our table, and we should do everything we can to make their jobs safer,” California Assemblymember Laura Friedman said. “No one should run the risk of chemical exposure on the job leading to their contracting Parkinson’s disease.”

Friedman, who partnered with the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to introduce the measure, said it passed “not only because banning paraquat is the right thing to do,” but also because there are “readily available, safer, affordable alternatives.”

The movement of the bill out of the appropriations committee this week now sets it up for a vote by the full Assembly next week. A vote has to be completed by Friday, May 24, in order for the measure to be moved to the state Senate for consideration. A majority of 80 Assembly members is needed to keep the bill alive.

April 18, 2024

“Sustainable” company behind POM juice among California’s top paraquat sprayers

By Shannon Kelleher

The Wonderful Company, which has been recognized for its sustainability initiatives and owns POM pomegranate juice, Fiji Water, and other popular brands, was among California’s top sprayers of the toxic weedkiller paraquat in 2021, according to a new analysis.

The major agricultural company, which grows pistachios, almonds, and pomegranates, was California’s second largest sprayer of paraquat, which has been linked to Parkinson’s disease. Wonderful accounted for over 13% of the state’s paraquat use, applying almost 57,000 lbs to its fields, according to the analysis published Thursday by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which drew from data obtained from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and county agriculture commissioners.

The company’s website states that “environmental sustainability is at the center of our work” and that the company, “in all its operations, must be a deeply responsible steward of the environment, and lead by example to create a sustainable future.” Wonderful has invested $400 million in sustainable agriculture, according to its website.

The Wonderful Company did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Just ten farms and companies in the top agricultural state sprayed 40% of all paraquat used in California in 2021, the analysis found. The biggest paraquat user in the state was the J.G. Boswell Company, a major producer of cotton, tomatoes for paste, and seed crops, which also accounted for over 13% of California’s paraquat use that year.

“Folks have known about paraquat for a while…but I think it’s clear the public doesn’t fully appreciate where these pesticides are being applied and how close it is to their communities,” said Geoff Horsfield, a policy director at the Environmental Working Group who works on pesticides and other agricultural issues.

December 13, 2023

Paraquat ties to Parkinson’s disease featured on Al Jazeera news

Evidence tying the popular weed killer paraquat to Parkinson’s disease is featured this week in an online news segment that includes fresh details about corporate influence over US regulators and suppression of scientific research.

Al Jazeera’s investigative show Fault Lines highlights the reporting of The New Lede (TNL) and the thousands of internal corporate documents obtained by TNL that reveal decades of efforts by Syngenta, paraquat’s longtime manufacturer, to conceal evidence of how chronic exposure to paraquat can cause Parkinson’s disease.

Last month, the “Paraquat Papers” reporting by The New Lede was also the focus of an ABC News Nightline segment.

The New Lede, in collaboration with The Guardian, first revealed a trove of internal Syngenta documents in October 2022 and followed up in subsequent stories, exposing years of corporate efforts to cover up evidence that paraquat can cause Parkinson’s disease. The documents obtained by The New Lede additionally showed evidence of efforts to manipulate and influence the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and published scientific literature. The documents also show how the company worked to mislead the public about paraquat dangers, among other secret strategies.

The Fault Lines piece adds to TNL reporting with several on-camera interviews.

November 22, 2023

Syngenta paraquat secrets featured on ABC News

By Carey Gillam and Shannon Kelleher

Decades of secret Syngenta documents revealed by The New Lede were the focus of an ABC News Nightline segment this week, highlighting how the company has worked to hide the risks of its paraquat herbicide.

The New Lede, in a co-publishing arrangement with The Guardian, first revealed a trove of internal Syngenta documents in October 2022 and followed up in subsequent stories, exposing years of corporate efforts to cover up evidence that paraquat can cause Parkinson’s disease.

The documents obtained by The New Lede additionally showed evidence of efforts to manipulate and influence the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and published scientific literature. The documents also show how the company worked to mislead the public about paraquat dangers.

Paraquat is one of the most widely used weed killing chemicals in the world, competing with herbicides such as glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup brand for use in agriculture. Farmers use paraquat both to control weeds before planting their crops and to dry out crops for harvest. In the United States, the chemical is used in orchards, wheat fields, pastures where livestock graze, cotton fields and elsewhere. As weeds have become more resistant to glyphosate, paraquat popularity has surged.

Though it is widely used, paraquat has long been known to be dangerous to ingest – a tiny swallow of the chemical can kill a person within days. Scores of people around the world have died from ingesting paraquat either intentionally or accidentally.

September 5, 2023

Letter from the editor: The saga of Syngenta, a scientist, and a subpoena

By Carey Gillam

Six months ago neurologist Dr. E. Ray Dorsey and a colleague authored an article titled “Paraquat, Parkinson’s Disease and Agnotology,” which spotlighted secrets unearthed from within the corporate files of paraquat maker Syngenta AG. The article was published March 6, 2023, in Movement Disorders, the official journal of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

In the article, Dorsey and co-author neurologist Dr. Amit Ray pointed to stories I wrote for The New Lede and The Guardian that were based upon thousands of pages of the company’s internal documents dating back to the 1950s. Those files revealed many corporate secrets related to paraquat safety and the weed killer’s potential connection to the dreaded, incurable brain disease known as Parkinson’s.

“Knowledge of the toxic effects of paraquat is alleged to have been hidden for decades,” Dorsey’s article stated. “All the while, the manufacturer continues to maintain that paraquat does not cause Parkinson’s disease. Actions like these should be recognized for what they are: attacks on science, attacks on scientists, and attacks on the health of the public.”

“This report and the company’s own findings now indicate that we know what one cause of Parkinson’s disease is—paraquat,” the article stated. “With this conclusion, paraquat should be banned, and the search for other causative factors in the environment should accelerate.”

(Dr. E. Ray Dorsey)
The statements published in the article did not sit well with Syngenta, to put it mildly.

Syngenta has spent the last few months engaging in what Dorsey’s defenders say is the latest effort in a history of chemical industry actions to harass, or otherwise smear, scientists whose work threatens corporate interests.

Since the article’s publication, Syngenta has been demanding that Dorsey turn over his private files – emails, notes, article drafts, and other records. The company is publicly accusing Dorsey of publishing his article not as a sincere scientific commentary, but as part of a conspiracy to engineer evidence that could be used by plaintiffs in sweeping, nationwide litigation brought by people alleging they developed Parkinson’s because of exposure to Syngenta’s paraquat herbicide.

After Dorsey balked at Syngenta’s demands, citing the fact that he has no connection to the litigation, the company last month asked a federal judge to force Dorsey to turn over his files.