Report: U.S. plants release a toxic herbicide into the air that more than 70 countries have banned

Waynesboro, Mississippi, in Wayne County is home to a 
 paraquat processing facility. (Photo by D. Nolan, The Lens)

Despite being banned in more than 70 countries, the toxic herbicide paraquat, which has been linked to Parkinson's disease, is regularly released into the air from facilities in the southern U.S., reports Delaney Nolan of The Lens. Currently, Parkinson's is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease in the world.

The number of Parkinson's disease deaths in rural Wayne County, Mississippi, serves as an example. The county is home to the largest paraquat-emitting facility in the U.S., and was ranked in the top 7% for national Parkinson's deaths between 2018 and 2024, Nolan writes.

Although a significant body of research has linked the herbicide to Parkinson's disease deaths among residents living near paraquat plants, farms or golf courses that use it, the herbicide's popularity is growing. Nolan explains, "About 35% of large commercial farms in the U.S. now use paraquat to kill weeds and dry up crops for harvest, often soybean, corn and cotton."

American factories don't directly produce paraquat; they import paraquat concentrate. Oftentimes, the imported concentrate is "trucked up along the Mississippi River, reformulated and packaged at a [U.S.] facility," Nolan explains. And while paraquat is considered a toxic chemical in the U.S., it is not "a federally regulated air pollutant – states have the authority to regulate it but generally do not set maximum emissions standards."

A "mass of research, including a rigorous 2024 study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, has repeatedly affirmed the dangers of paraquat," Nolan adds. "When a person inhales paraquat, it travels into the brain, killing the neurons which produce dopamine, which in some people can lead to Parkinson’s. . . . Even people who live near fields where paraquat is sprayed have increased risks of Parkinson’s and thyroid cancer."