Report: California paraquat use concentrated in poor, Latino communities
Between 2017 and 2021, 5.3 million pounds of the herbicide paraquat were sprayed on California fields, with 66 percent of it in five Central Valley counties whose residents are predominantly poor and Latino, according to a new Environmental Working Group analysis.
Senate bill would ban broad swath of pesticides
The United States would ban the use of two classes of insecticides—organophosphates and neonicotinoids—and the herbicide paraquat under a bill unveiled by Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey on Monday. More than 100 pesticides would be affected, including chlorpyrifos, recently slated by the EPA for termination as an agricultural aid.
EPA renews approval of paraquat, including aerial application
After nine months of review, the EPA finalized its interim decision on the weedkiller paraquat on Monday, effectively keeping the herbicide on the U.S. market for 15 years. The agency decided to allow aerial application of the chemical on a broader range of crops than it proposed last …