Maker to Stop Producing Pesticide Named in 8K Lawsuits

A decades-old farm chemical at the center of thousands of health lawsuits is getting the ax from its biggest maker. Syngenta said Tuesday it will stop producing its paraquat weed killer by the end of June, citing heavy competition from cheaper generics and the product's small share of its global sales, per the Guardian. The company did not mention the more than 8,000 US lawsuits filed by people who allege that exposure to paraquat, sold by Syngenta under the brand name Gramoxone, led to Parkinson's disease. The company settled an unspecified number of claims for $187.5 million in 2021, per MLive, which has more on the ongoing cases.

Syngenta insists paraquat is safe when used as directed and says it does not cause Parkinson's, even as numerous studies have linked the chemical to brain-cell damage and the disease. Internal company documents previously obtained by journalists suggested Syngenta knew of the research decades ago and worked behind the scenes to shape the science and public messaging. The move to stop producing the chemical drew praise from neurologists who have pushed for a ban, with one calling it a "public health milestone." But environmental advocates warn that with paraquat still legal in the US, other manufacturers are poised to keep supplying farmers who use it on crops from soybeans to grapes.