Title: Grain Producers Australia claim APVMA out of touch with reality of paraquat dangers
[Pesticide Reduction News] -- Grain Producers Australia have expressed grave concerns over the science being relied on by the APVMA in their review of super toxic herbicide paraquat.
Grain Producers Australia argue in an article published yesterday that more research is needed to develop safer methods for weed control and to find pulse varieties and practices that are not reliant on paraquat.
Among the reasons given for GPA's concerns are that current uses of paraquat have been assessed as a risk related to environmental and animal exposures.
The article goes on to state, '"Grain Central understands the perceived risk to native birds is of particular concern."
We should add to the farmers concerns recent scientific findings. In a study just published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, three leading scientific experts explain why the use of paraquat is controversial.
The scientists point out that paraquat has been banned in the EU and elsewhere because of evidence that paraquat induces a wide array of adverse health effects, such as pulmonary fibrosis, renal failure, hepatotoxicity, sudden death by unintentional intoxication or suicide and neurodegenerative disorders. Experimental models show that paraquat crosses the blood–brain barrier, it can directly cause and exacerbate alpha-synuclein pathology and can cause degeneration of dopaminergic neurons.
In humans, a meta-analysis of 13 case–control studies showed an association between paraquat exposure and the risk of developing Parkinson's disease.
There is strong consensus emerging that the APVMA has not gone far nought to protect humans and environmental values from the dangers of paraquat use.
