US environment agency let Bayer pick regulations for destructive weedkiller, documents show

 Environmental Protection Agency asked firm to choose rules it wanted for dicamba, then put the choices in a proposed federal rule…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/20/epa-bayer-regulation-pesticide-dicamba

 

Weedkiller ingredient widely used in US can damage organs and gut bacteria, research shows

"From a human health perspective, this stuff is quite a bit nastier than glyphosate so we're seeing a regrettable substitution, and the ineffective regulatory structure is allowing it," said Nathan Donley, science director with the Center For Biological Diversity, which advocates for stricter pesticide regulations but was not involved in the new research. "Regrettable substitution" is a scientific term used to describe the replacement of a toxic substance in a consumer product with an ingredient that is also toxic. 

Diquat is also thought to be a neurotoxin, carcinogen and linked to Parkinson's disease. An October analysis of EPA data by the Friends of the Earth non-profit found it is about 200 times more toxic than glyphosate in terms of chronic exposure…

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/06/weedkiller-diquat-organ-damage-study

 

High levels of weedkiller found in more than half sperm samples, study finds

Glyphosate found in samples from French infertility clinic raising questions about controversial chemical's impact on fertility…

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/17/glyphosate-weedkiller-sperm

People exposed to weedkiller chemical have cancer biomarkers in urine – study

Scientists say it is important to examine substances that may cause oxidative stress because a large body of scientific evidence suggests that long-term oxidative stress contributes to the development not only of cancer but also a range of chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and reproductive problems, including male infertility...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/20/glyphosate-weedkiller-cancer-biomarkers-urine-study

Why does the US allow a controversial weedkiller banned across the world?

In 2011, AHS researchers reported that study participants who used paraquat or another pesticide called rotenone were more than twice as likely to develop Parkinson's disease as people who didn't use the chemicals...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/28/paraquat-weedkiller-epa-ban

Secret files suggest chemical giant feared weedkiller’s link to Parkinson’s disease

In addition, the records show company scientists were aware of evidence that exposure to paraquat could impair the central nervous system (CNS), triggering tremors and other symptoms in experimental animals similar to those suffered by people with Parkinson's. A 1975 Chevron communication speaks of concerns about allegations of "permanent CNS effects from paraquat".

And as independent researchers continued to find more and more evidence that paraquat may cause Parkinson's, the documents describe what Syngenta called an "influencing" strategy "that proactively diffuses [sic] the potential threats that we face" and seeks to "maintain and safeguard paraquat registrations", referring to their regulatory approvals. The strategy "must consider how best to influence academia, and regulatory and NGO environments"…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/20/syngenta-weedkiller-pesticide-parkinsons-disease-paraquat-documents

One in three Americans have detectable levels of toxic weedkiller, study finds

…Exposure to high levels of 2,4-D, an ingredient of Agent Orange used against civilians during the Vietnam war, has been linked to cancers including leukemia in children, birth defects and reproductive problems among other health issues. While little is known about the impact of low-level exposure to the herbicide, it does disrupt the endocrine system – a network of glands that make hormones which control growth and development, reproduction, metabolism and our organs and moods…

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/09/toxic-herbicide-exposure-study-2-4-d

The weedkiller in our food is killing us | Erin Brockovich - the guardian

On a recent Saturday afternoon, in an estuary near Tampa Bay, Florida, I watched airboats move up and down the river banks, spraying massive plumes of weedkiller on to the vegetation. The state of Florida was trying to control and kill off scores of plant species. Nearby, children were lying out in the sun, though they knew better than to swim in the water, which has recently been blooming with toxic algae. Mists of weedkiller drifted downwind toward them. ....
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/06/the-weedkiller-in-our-food-is-killing-us