Toxicologist Prof Jon Heylings worked for Syngenta and its predecessor companies for more than 20 years. After retiring, he turned whistleblower, and has given evidence as an expert witness in the US legal action.
He said farmers who used it without protective equipment, damaging their skin, should be worried. “If they went out the next day and actually used it again, and the next day, you could absorb more Paraquat through the skin, into the blood and then into the brain,” he says.
“The issue is really does it actually cause Parkinson’s when it gets into the brain? That’s one of the key issues around the whole exposure. And if this chemical does cause Parkinson’s, who is responsible?”
There is no scientific consensus and many conflicting studies on any possible association between Paraquat and Parkinson’s.
In the UK, research charity Cure Parkinson’s said exposure was “a well-recognised environmental risk factor” but Parkinson’s UK said studies show “a small increased risk” at most.
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