Published November 18, 2024.

Senator Cory Booker wrote a letter to the EPA alongside 7 US Senators and 47 House Representatives urging the agency to ban the toxic restricted use herbicide Paraquat. The EPA, which currently supports Paraquat use, will make a final ruling by January 17th. You can call your representatives and tell them to pressure the EPA into banning Paraquat.

"As a concerned citizen, I urge you to support banning the restricted use herbicide paraquat. First created by Chinese owned agro-chemical giant Syngenta, Paraquat is still sprayed on crops like cherries, almonds, apples, grapes, peanuts, cotton, corn, soy, rice, and wheat. UCLA research alongside a number of meta-analyses found that exposure to paraquat led to a 64% increase in the likelihood of developing Parkinson’s as well as an increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, thyroid cancer, and other thyroid issues. Paraquat is currently banned by more than 70 countries, including China, Brazil, the entire European Union, and Turkey, and it is time for the USA to join them. Please communicate with the EPA and push them to ban the use of paraquat to protect our farmworkers, rural communities, and school children."

Here is a full list of US House Representatives and their contact information. Here is a full list of US Senators and their contact information.

Cory Booker's Letter to the EPA – "Dear Administrator Regan: Paraquat is a highly toxic pesticide whose continued use cannot be justified given its harms to farmworkers and rural communities. We write to urge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the use of paraquat in the United States. Paraquat has been linked to Parkinson’s disease, thyroid cancer, and other health harms such as kidney, liver, and respiratory damage, and reproductive harm, including neurodevelopment impact on developing fetuses. In rural areas, exposure to paraquat and other pesticides during pregnancy can increase the risk of leukemia.

Farmworkers and rural residents are disproportionately exposed to paraquat. Findings from researchers at UCLA show paraquat sprayed within 500 meters of where people live and work can more than double a person’s odds of developing Parkinson’s disease. Citing these and other risks, more than 70 countries have banned the use of paraquat, including China, Brazil, the European Union, and Turkey. Paraquat is no longer registered for use by Canadian farmers.

Most farmers in the U.S. don’t use paraquat. According to the EPA, 99% of winter wheat, 98% of corn, 96% of sorghum, 94% of soybeans, 78% of cherries, 74% of almonds, 65% of apples, and 62% of peanuts were not sprayed with paraquat between 2014 and 2018. We urge you to protect the health of farmworkers and rural residents by banning paraquat." Click here to see the letter.