The Avoidable 'Pandemic': Parkinson's Disease
More than 70 countries have banned the weed killer paraquat, but not the United States, despite research showing paraquat is linked to the world's fastest growing, brain disease.
Paraquat is a herbicide first used commercially in 1961 that is banned in more than 70 countries because it is linked to serious chronic diseases.
However, paraquat is not banned in the United States, where it is widely used to eradicate weeds in crops like cotton, corn, and soybeans.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains that the “evidence” does not warrant a ban, provided paraquat is used as labeled. The EPA focuses on regulating the use of paraquat to improve safety, not on its threat to public health.
A Growing Pandemic
A new book, The Parkinson’s Plan, states that the number of people with Parkinson’s disease doubled from approximately three million to more than six million between 1990 and 2015. The authors predict the number will double again by 2040 if environmental toxins like paraquat are not addressed.
The authors, neurologists Ray Dorsey and Michael S. Okun, say the rise in Parkinson’s disease constitutes a pandemic that has “transformed what was likely an uncommon disease in ancient times into a disturbingly common one today.”
A growing body of research shows that nearly one-quarter of Parkinson’s disease cases are due to pesticide/herbicide exposure. Other factors include genetics (13%), head injuries (e.g., contact sports), and air pollution, among others.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that leads to a gradual deterioration of brain cells. It manifests in a broad range of symptoms, from motor issues like tremors, stiffness, and difficulty walking to postural changes.
Aging is the most significant risk factor.
Failure of U.S. Regulatory System
The risk posed by paraquat to human health is deemed unacceptable in countries around the globe, including the European Union (2007) and China (2016).
Ironically, paraquat is manufactured by Syngenta Global AG, which is owned by Sinochem, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Although China banned the use of paraquat in China a decade ago, it sells it for use in the United States.
Why is a risk that other countries eschew acceptable in the United States?
Dorsey calls the failure of the United States to ban paraquat “a great failure of our regulatory environment and of modern society.”
Interestingly, Dorsey and Okun see the possibility of working with U.S. Secreetary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in banning toxins linked to Parkinson’s disease. Kennedy has focused on the role of pollutants in America’s adverse health care parameters.
Kennedy says the United States is one of the sickest countries in the world.
Pesticide Drift And Exposure
Many older people yearn to live on or near a golf course during their retirement years.
However, one study found that living within one mile of a golf course in Rochester, Minnesota, is associated with a 126% increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. For every mile farther away you live, the risk drops by about nine percent.
Okun notes that golf courses are heavy users of pesticides. “We think it’s the pesticides that are leaching down, getting into the water supply,” he said.
People who live near golf courses are advised to switch to an in-home water cooler or drink filtered water.
“Exposure to pesticides is not limited to farmers and those who spray it... Simply living or working near where a weed killer called paraquat is sprayed is associated with a doubling of your risk of Parkinson’s Disease.” - Ray Dorsey, MD.
In their latest book, Dorsey and Okun list 25 steps people can take to reduce their risk of Parkinson’s disease, including using a water filter (particularly if you have well water), washing produce, and using indoor air filters.
Groups such as PD Avengers and the Michael J. Fox Foundation are pushing for the U.S. Congress to ban paraquat.
“It’s not just people who work with these toxins like paraquat that are at risk, but it is increasingly those who live or work near them, perhaps breathing it in or perhaps drinking water that is contaminated with it. Increasingly, all of us are at risk.” - Ray Dorsey, MD.
Lawsuits
Environmental reporter Carey Gillam reports in The New Lede that more than 6,700 lawsuits accuse Syngenta of failing to warn paraquat users of the risks of Parkinson’s disease that exposure to the weed killer poses. Gillam writes that many of the Syngenta’s internal documents show it was aware of research connecting paraquat to Parkinson’s disease decades ago. A trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 6, though both sides are participating in settlement negotiations.
Dorsey and Okun wrote an earlier book, Ending Parkinson’s Disease: A Prescription for Action (2020).
Dorsey is a Professor of Neurology at the University of Rochester, and Director of the Center for Brain & Environment at the Atria Health and Research Institute, while Okun is a Professor of Neurology at the University of Florida and Director of the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases.
Dorsey and Okun say all the proceeds from their Parkinson books are devoted to efforts to end Parkinson’s.