Paraquat Litigation FAQs

Paraquat is a herbicide, primarily for weed and grass control, that is highly toxic. Unlike other popular weed killers, Paraquat is designed to kill or damage all the plants that come in contact with Paraquat. It is used by farmers to kill broadleaf weeds and grasses before planting various crops, to control weeds in orchards, and to desiccate (dry) plants before harvest.

Paraquat is a Restricted Use Pesticide, meaning Paraquat is only available for industrial/commercial use. Paraquat is not available to residential consumers and requires a license to purchase the herbicide. The herbicide is often used on commercial farms, particularly in corn and soybean farming, areas of cotton farms, and tobacco farms.

Paraquat first came on the market in the 1960s. It commercially was became available in the U.S. in 1964. it is 20-25th most commonly used pesticide in the U.S. Paraquat’s popularity has been on the rise due to the decreasing effective use of glyphosate (aka Roundup). Internationally, Paraquat is banned in more than 32 countries – including China, where it is manufactured. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has considered regulating or banning the product; however, there is no reason to believe that the Agency will take any action in the near future.

Unlike Roundup, Paraquat is known to be acutely toxic. There are ample warning labels on Paraquat containers. Additionally, because Paraquat is so toxic, it has a blue dye additive, an odor additive and an added agent to cause vomiting if ingested. Roundup container does not have warning labels regarding the toxicity of the product.

The epidemiology suggesting the link between Parkinson’s Disease and use of Paraquat is great than the casual link between Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Roundup use.

The major manufacturers facing Paraquat lawsuits are Syngenta and Chevron.