Herbicide banned in 70 countries to be pulled from sale in Australia by chemical maker.

Syngenta, the producer of a herbicide banned in more than 70 countries and which has been linked to Parkinson’s disease, will stop selling paraquat in Australia, saying new regulations has made it “commercially unviable”.

The decision to pull the product follows new restrictions on the highly poisonous chemical announced by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority in June.

Paraquat has been produced by the Swiss company for decades, but has long been linked to Parkinson’s disease in users.

It is banned in more than 70 countries and has been prohibited in the European Union since 2007.

It cannot be used in domestic settings in Australia, but is still widely used in agriculture, particularly broad-acre cropping like grains, sugarcane and cotton. The APVMA assessed that the weight of evidence does not show that paraquat exposure through approved uses increases the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

But it did impose new restrictions to address acute exposure and risks to animals.

The company said the decision to pull the products followed a commercial review carried out in the wake of the APVMA’s rules.

Syngenta ANZ’s managing director, David Van Ryswyk, said the company will manage the phase-out of its paraquat products in strict alignment with the APVMA’s designated sell-out and use-by timelines.

Source: www.theguardian.com

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