Europe court bans paraquat on health grounds

11 July 2007 12:34  [Source: ICIS news]

PARIS (ICIS news)--Europe’s second highest court, the European Court of the First Instance, said on Wednesday it had banned the weedkiller paraquat on health and safety grounds.

 

The court endorsed an appeal by Sweden, which banned the use of paraquat in 1983 until it was forced to comply with the European Commission's approval of the product 20 years later.

 

The court said the EC had failed to apply proper procedures when deciding whether to authorise the weed killer in 2003 and had not sufficiently analysed paraquat's effects on human and animal health.

 

Paraquat, a widely used herbicide, is marketed under the name of Gramoxone by the Swiss group, Syngenta.

 

Critics have accused paraquat of causing lung and eye damage and have suggested a link to Parkinson’s disease. 

By: Philippa Jones
+44 20 8652 3214

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