Syngenta Tried to Bury Parkinson’s Disease Link to Paraquat

June 5, 2023 — Internal documents from Syngenta have revealed an effort to downplay evidence linking Parkinson’s disease to the weed-killing chemical paraquat, according to an investigation by The Guardian.

Investigators discovered that Syngenta used multiple tactics to secretly influence scientific research and regulatory decisions on paraquat.

One example is research by Syngenta scientist Louise Marks, who did mouse studies between 2003 and 2007 and concluded that paraquat exposure was linked to a significant loss of dopamine in the brain.

Syngenta never published her research or shared the results with the PEA. Instead, when Syngenta met with EPA officials in 2013, the company told the EPA that high doses of paraquat did not reduce dopamine levels in the brain.

Furthermore, in a follow-up presentation to the EPA in 2017, Syngenta claimed that animal studies found no “statistically significant effect of [paraquat] on dopaminergic neuronal cell numbers.”

The company claimed that paraquat had “no effect” in the brain and a link between paraquat and Parkinson’s disease was “not supported” by research.

Syngenta did not tell the EPA about Marks’ research until 2019, under pressure from attorneys who were suing the company on behalf of people with Parkinson’s disease who had been exposed to paraquat.

Syngenta is now facing around 2,000 lawsuits involving people with Parkinson’s disease. Many of the plaintiffs are farmers or farm-workers who were exposed to high levels of paraquat while spraying it on crops — especially corn, soybeans, and cotton.

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