Farmers fear this weedkiller made them sick. Why hasn’t Australia banned it?

Parkinson’s is the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world.

And in some Australian farming communities, doctors are questioning why so many seem to be getting it.

For years, some farmers and doctors have drawn a link to paraquat – a powerful weedkiller still used widely on Australian farms, despite being banned in more than 60 countries, including the UK, China and Brazil.

This month, Australia’s chemical regulator is expected to decide whether paraquat can keep being used here – after a review that’s been going on since 1997.

Professor Wesley Thevathasan is one of about 50 neurologists who made submissions to that review, calling for paraquat to be banned. But he says the regulator has ignored them – as well as some of the strongest evidence linking exposure to the chemical to Parkinson’s.

Today, Associate Professor Wesley Thevathasan, on the farmers who fear paraquat made them sick, and whether Australia’s regulator is listening.

Farmer audio courtesy of ABC rural.

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Guest: Parkinson’s disease specialist, Associate Professor Wesley Thevathasan

Photo: ABC / Jake Hamilton

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