The environmental working group announced that it is sponsoring legislation that would ban the use of paraquat in California.
An analysis by EWG says that paraquat poses significant health threats, with a strong link to use of the herbicide and an elevated risk of Parkinson’s disease. The herbicide is also banned in more than 60 countries, but 5.3 million pounds of it were sprayed in California from 2017 to 2021.
Assembly Bill 1963, if signed into law by governor Gavin Newsom, would end the use of paraquat on fields and orchards by January, 2026.
