Syngenta closer to settling thousands of US paraquat lawsuits
Syngenta is another step closer to potentially putting an end to thousands of lawsuits brought by people blaming the company’s paraquat weed killer for causing Parkinson’s disease.
agriculture
Outrage in Iowa – Residents demand action to clean up dangerously polluted water
DES MOINES, Iowa – Several hundred Iowa residents gathered in the state capital this week, calling on public officials – and each other – to take swift action against dangerously polluted water supplies that are closely linked to the state’s powerful agricultural industry.
EPA’s move to greenlight controversial dicamba herbicide sparks outrage
By Carey Gillam
In the latest reversal of American environmental protections, US regulators said this week that they plan to approve a trio of new herbicide products made with dicamba, a controversial chemical that has wreaked havoc across farm country and sparked years of litigation, and twice drawn court-ordered bans.
WATCH: Controversial water contamination report targets Iowa agriculture
A controversial Iowa water safety report has confirmed what many people in the state have long feared to be true: Dangerously high levels of farm chemicals, including nitrates and pesticides are polluting waterways with potentially dire health consequences for hundreds of thousands of residents.
Proposed federal law would turn tables on Big Ag, establishing a right to sue for pesticide injuries
By Carey Gillam
Taking specific aim at the global agrochemical companies Bayer and Syngenta, US Sen. Cory Booker on Thursday introduced legislation that would create a federal “right of action” allowing people to sue those pesticide makers and others for allegedly causing health harms such as cancer and Parkinson’s disease.
With trial approaching, Syngenta settles paraquat lawsuit brought by Parkinson’s patient
By Carey Gillam
Less than a month ahead of what would have been the first US trial over allegations that a popular weedkiller made by agrochemical giant Syngenta causes Parkinson’s disease, the parties have agreed to settle the case. With a looming Aug. 4 Philadelphia trial date, the case of Douglas Nemeth v. Syngenta, which previously was delayed multiple times, was being closely watched as the two sides battled over evidence to be presented and expert witnesses.
Q&A: Current policies “not enough” to ensure safe water in key US farm state
By Carey Gillam
On Tuesday, a team of 16 scientists released the results of a controversial two-year study of pollution patterns in key waterways in Iowa. The New Lede talked with Claire Hruby, one of the scientific advisors on the report, about the new report. Hruby is assistant professor, Environmental Science and Sustainability College of Arts and Sciences at Drake University in Iowa.
As nitrate levels soar in Iowa, new research underscores risks for babies
New research out of Iowa adds to a wide body of evidence showing that when pregnant women are exposed to nitrates in drinking water, it raises the risks of problematic birth outcomes, including low birth weights and pre-term birth. The study, published June 25 in PLOS Water, found that the risks persist even when exposures are lower than the regulatory standard for allowable levels.
Children are paying the costs for Iowa’s “drinking water crisis”
Iowa is currently facing an unprecedented drinking water crisis. Recent reports indicate alarming nitrate levels in the Raccoon River; so high that city officials enacted emergency measures such as lawn water bans, to ensure water treatment facilities could comply with regulatory standards for safe drinking water. Unfortunately, at least for pregnant women, any level of nitrate in drinking water appears unsafe.
Maryland residents search for answers as community struggles to overcome PFAS contamination
By Shannon Kelleher
Rick Wawrzeniak is tired of worrying about “forever chemicals.”