Vermont has become the first state in the nation to ban paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide used in local orchards that has been linked to Parkinson’s disease.
Gov. Phil Scott signed H.739 on Tuesday. The bill enjoyed broad support in the legislature.
It prohibits the sale or use of paraquat after 2030. Until then, farmers will need special permission from agricultural regulators to use the pesticide if they can show it is their only option.
Paraquat has been used in the U.S. since 1964 to kill broadleaf weeds and grasses. It is used mostly by farmers who grow soybeans, cotton and corn, as well as other crops.
The herbicide is used in limited amounts in Vermont, mostly in orchards in the Champlain Valley. In recent years, distributors have reported selling only about 100 pounds annually in the state, though that does not account for farmers who may purchase the herbicide elsewhere.
It is largely used to kill weeds around young fruit trees, according to testimony from Rep. Greg Burtt (R-Cabot), who uses the herbicide for limited applications at his orchards in Cabot. He prefers paraquat to other weed killers, such as glyphosate, because it is not taken up by the trees or transferred to the fruit, he told colleagues.
But the herbicide is highly toxic, and people applying it need special training. Because of this, it cannot be sold in Vermont for residential or recreational uses, such as on golf courses.
Despite it’s limited use in the state, organizations such as the Michael J. Fox Foundation and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group pushed hard for the ban.
“There are some agricultural pesticides that are just too poisonous to be used safely. Paraquat is now at the top of that list and therefore banning it in Vermont is absolutely the right thing to do,” said Paul Burns, executive director of VPIRG.
They noted that some 70 countries have already banned paraquat, and its links to Parkinson’s Disease were strong. The degenerative neurological disease is on the rise with an estimated 90,000 new cases diagnosed in the U.S. annually.
People in rural areas have double the risk of getting Parkinson’s, which some researchers attribute to their proximity to agricultural operations that use the herbicide. Depending on how they are applied, herbicides can drift on wind currents.
“It’s not an abstract risk. It affects farmers, farm workers and families in rural communities across the state and the country,” Zach Hardy, government relations manager for the Michael J. Fox Foundation, told lawmakers.
The organization was founded by the actor, who was diagnosed with the disease in 1991. It has since become the world’s leading Parkinson’s research organization.
One of the largest producers of paraquat, Syngenta, faces thousands of lawsuits over the herbicide. The company announced earlier this year that it had decided to stop its version, Gramoxone.
Advocates say the ban is still necessary because several other companies continue to produce the toxic herbicide.
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