Congressional Member’s Report Card

Congressional Member’s Report Card

Our Environment’s Reality?

Perspective - Pesticides

EU’s EXPORTED BANNED PESTICIDE’S – CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS

  • Syngenta is by far the largest exporter of these deadly pesticides. The Basel-based giant has a large network of factories across the continent, including in the United Kingdom and France, and it uses these factories to manufacture several pesticides, which are banned in the EU, such as paraquat and atrazine. In addition some 30 companies exported banned pesticides from European soil, including German giants Bayer and BASF. Many smaller companies also play a significant role, including Italy’s Finchimica and Germany’s Alzchem.
  • Syngenta’s best selling pesticide Gramoxone, which contains Paraquat as an active ingredient. It is one of the most toxic weed killers in the world. In most cases, already one sip can kill and in cases of poisonings, there are no antidotes available. Chronic exposure, even at low doses, can cause Parkinson’s disease. The deadly pesticide was first marketed in 1962, but has been banned in the European Union (EU) since 2007, as well as in Switzerland since 1989, on the grounds that it is too dangerous for European farmers even when wearing protective equipment.
  • Despite this, Syngenta continues to manufacture the herbicide at its plant in Huddersfield, UK, and export it to countries in South America, Asia and Africa, where it causes thousands of poisonings every year.

PESTICIDES IMPACT - MONARCH POPULATION

EXPORTING COUNTRIES - MANUFACTURERS - INGREDIENTS - IMPORTING COUNTRIES