Multinational agriculture technology company Syngenta announced last Tuesday (March 3) that it will cease global production of the herbicide paraquat by the end of June, including at its facility in Iberville Parish. U.S. farmers commonly use the highly toxic paraquat for weed control. Much of the paraquat used by the farmers enters the country through New Orleans, according to a recent report by Coming Clean, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas and Pesticide Action and Agroecology Network. Along the way, workers at the ports and in the company’s facilities risk exposure to the chemical. A 2017 Environmental Protection Agency memo noted that paraquat is so toxic that “one sip can kill,” and that even minimal contact can cause serious injury to the eyes and skin. Inhaling paraquat can also cause lung damage, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure to the chemical is associated with Parkinson’s disease

Two policy papers released today call for an urgent transformation of our approach to hazardous chemicals if we are to prevent further harm to people and the environment. The papers were developed in support of the Louisville Charter for Safer Chemicals, a platform for changing the way chemicals are used, made and regulated, that is endorsed by over 125 organizations. Together the two policy papers set clear recommendations for taking health protective action with available data and information, to overcome weaponized doubt that leads to harmful delays. Read the papers:"Use Scientific Data to Support Health-Protective Policies and Practices"and "Act with Foresight to Protect Health and Prevent Pollution."

Workers, lawmakers and environmental advocates gathered  this week to speak out against a proposed federal rule that would roll back protections for people who live near hazardous facilities across the country. “This is just the latest example of how this administration will do whatever it can to put industry profit over the health and safety of workers, first responders and communities that allow those companies to exist in the first place,” US Rep. Paul Tonko, a Democrat from New York, said during a March 25 press event on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The event was organized by the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, an alliance of community, environmental, and labor organizations working to strengthen federal regulations to prevent chemical disasters.

In 2024, the federal Environmental Protection Agency attempted to address the risk of chemical leaks through a rule called the Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention. It promised a modest course correction, requiring dangerous plants to investigate past accidents, plan for climate-fueled disasters, give workers more power to halt unsafe operations, and, in some cases, switch to safer chemicals or processes. But last month, Trump’s EPA proposed gutting most of those safeguards before they ever took effect, moving to strip away requirements for safer technologies, climate and natural disaster planning, third-party safety audits, and strong worker participation in decision making. “For fenceline communities and facility workers, this rollback is a declaration that our lives are deemed acceptable sacrifices,” said Ana Parras, executive director of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, a group that has worked in several national coalitions around chemical safety.

Syngenta announced that it would cease global production of the toxic herbicide paraquat by the end of June 2026, at a time when public awareness of paraquat’s harms is rising. Across the U.S., farmers and farmworkers have shared their stories of developing lifelong health conditions after being exposed to paraquat. Thousands of lawsuits are pending in U.S. courts, alleging Syngenta failed to warn people of paraquat’s documented links to Parkinson’s disease. And bills to ban or restrict paraquat have been introduced in at least twelve states. 
“It’s great to hear Syngenta is turning off the tap to a major source of paraquat to the U.S. But SinoChem’s corporate business model hasn’t changed,” said Judith Robinson, Executive Director of Coming Clean. “Its facilities will continue to pollute the air and water from the UK to Cancer Alley. Its pesticides are nearly all derived from fossil fuels that contribute to climate change. If you’re concerned for your health because paraquat has been sprayed on your food for years, you should also be concerned about the many other toxic herbicides that remain and could replace it.”