Whistleblower Warned Manufacturer About the Dangers of Paraquat:
Paraquat, originally marketed as Gramoxone, is one of the U.S. agriculture industry’s most popular herbicides. It is a non-selective contact herbicide, which means it kills anything green that it touches. The chemical works by disrupting photosynthesis production in plants, causing them to begin to wither and die almost immediately. In demand for the speed at which it kills weeds, its use is on the rise. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, growers sprayed more than ten million pounds of Paraquat on corn, soybeans, and other fruits in vegetables in 2017, the last year with available data.
Dangers of Paraquat Ingestion
While Paraquat may be a super-strength weed killer, it is also extremely toxic to humans. If accidentally ingested, a small sip can kill someone. The chemical can also be fatal if inhaled. And unlike many other poisons, there is no antidote. Studies estimate that 30% of worldwide poison suicides come from people ingesting Paraquat. Others estimate that, worldwide, more than 14 million people have committed suicide using ingested poisons since the 1950s.
Manufacturers Deny Paraquat’s Danger
A recent article from the Intercept demonstrates the hazards of relying on manufacturers of hazardous chemicals to self-police their clinical data and research results. When Paraquat manufacturer Syngenta eventually gave in to pressure to add an emetic to make people vomit if they ingested Paraquat, the level added by Syngenta isn’t effective in preventing death. In 1990, a company scientist wrote a memo to company administrators after discovering that one of the original scientists misrepresented research and cherry-picked data in the research study that led to determining the emetic level in Paraquat. The company did nothing.The company continues to deny the health risks from paraquat exposure. According to Saswata Das, a Syngenta company spokesperson, “[o]ur detractors have willfully misrepresented and mischaracterized a limited number of documents, which ordinarily form part of an entire dialogue on product design, and focused on them, making false accusations related to the weight we give to cost when considering safety.”If you or a loved one have been harmed from Paraquat ingestion, inhalation, or other exposure, contact the Madeksho Law Firm at 888-910-6376 or through our online form. Your initial consultation is always free, and you won’t pay any fees unless we recover compensation for you.
