By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know that Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna-R and Maine Representative Chellie Pingree-D introduced the Paraquat Prevention Act this month to ban the herbicide paraquat in the United States?
The bill introduced in the House of Representatives directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to cancel all existing paraquat registrations, revoke food residue tolerances, and prohibit the sale and use of existing stocks.
Proponents cite scientific links between paraquat exposure and Parkinson’s Disease, noting that the chemical is already banned in over 70 nations, including every member of the European Union and China. In 2016, China banned the domestic use of paraquat in the interest of protecting public health while continuing to export the majority of its production. China exports approximately 78 million pounds of paraquat to the U.S yearly.
This federal effort follows the state of Vermont becoming the first U.S. state to pass a paraquat ban just last month, in May. The U.S. remains one of the few developed nations that still uses paraquat.