Paraquat is not banned in the United States. It remains one of the most widely used herbicides in the country, though it is classified as a Restricted Use Pesticide, meaning only trained, certified applicators can handle it. More than 60 countries, including the entire European Union, China, and South Korea, have banned paraquat outright, but the EPA has opted for tighter restrictions rather than a full prohibition.
How Paraquat Is Regulated in the U.S.
The EPA’s approach to paraquat centers on limiting who can use it and how. Unlike most pesticides, paraquat cannot be applied by uncertified workers, even under the supervision of a certified applicator. Every person who mixes, loads, transports, or sprays paraquat must hold their own certification and complete an EPA-approved training program, which has to be renewed every three years.
In July 2021, the EPA released an interim decision tightening the rules further. The key changes include: capping aerial applications at 350 acres per applicator per day (except for cotton desiccation), requiring residential drift buffers for all aerial spraying, banning the use of handheld pressurized sprayers and backpack sprayers, and mandating enclosed tractor cabs or respirators depending on the size of the treated area. Workers must wait 48 hours before re-entering a treated field, or seven days for cotton desiccation.
As of late 2025, the EPA also flagged new uncertainty about whether paraquat can become airborne after application. The agency issued a data request to manufacturers to resolve questions about volatilization, which could lead to additional restrictions depending on the findings.
Why Paraquat Is Banned Elsewhere
The countries that have banned paraquat generally cite two concerns: its extreme toxicity to humans if swallowed and its links to Parkinson’s disease. The European Union revoked paraquat’s approval in 2007. South Korea banned it in part because restricting access dramatically reduced poisoning deaths. Fiji, Brazil, and dozens of other nations followed with their own prohibitions.
In the U.S., legislative efforts have not gained traction. A bill called the Protect Against Paraquat Act was introduced in Congress in 2019, proposing to cancel all registrations and ban paraquat residue on food. It did not advance out of committee, and no subsequent version has passed.
The Parkinson’s Disease Connection
The strongest health concern driving calls for a ban is the association between paraquat exposure and Parkinson’s disease. The suspected mechanism involves oxidative stress, a process in which paraquat generates harmful molecules inside cells that damage the neurons responsible for movement and coordination.
Research published in Neurology found that the risk depended partly on diet. People exposed to paraquat who also had low intake of certain protective fats (polyunsaturated fatty acids found in foods like fish, nuts, and seeds) had roughly 3.5 to 4.5 times the risk of developing Parkinson’s compared to unexposed individuals with higher fat intake. Those with either exposure alone or low fat intake alone had only modestly elevated risk, around 1.2 to 1.4 times normal. This pattern supports the idea that paraquat causes damage through oxidative stress, since those dietary fats are known to help neutralize oxidative damage.
How Dangerous Paraquat Is if Swallowed
Paraquat is extraordinarily toxic when ingested. The lethal dose is estimated at just 1.2 to 2.4 teaspoons of a standard 30% concentration product. There is no antidote. According to CDC data covering 1998 to 2013, ingestion was responsible for 79% of all paraquat-related deaths in the U.S. during that period. Of 24 total deaths recorded, 12 resulted from intentional ingestion and seven from accidental swallowing.
Most reported paraquat illnesses during that period were low or moderate severity (85% combined), typically involving skin or eye contact rather than ingestion. But the gap between a non-fatal exposure and a fatal one is narrow, which is a core reason so many countries have chosen outright bans.
Since 1988, U.S. paraquat products have been required to include three safety features designed to prevent accidental ingestion: a blue dye so the liquid can’t be mistaken for a beverage, a sharp chemical odor, and an emetic agent that induces vomiting if swallowed. These measures reduce but do not eliminate poisoning deaths.
Ongoing Lawsuits Over Parkinson’s Claims
Thousands of people who developed Parkinson’s disease after occupational paraquat exposure have filed lawsuits against the herbicide’s manufacturers. These cases were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Southern District of Illinois in 2021. As of early 2026, court orders reference settlement discussions and voluntary dismissals, suggesting some resolution may be underway, though the litigation remains active with no final public outcome. Trial dates have been stayed and rescheduled multiple times.
The outcome of this litigation could influence the regulatory landscape. A large settlement or verdict establishing a clear link between paraquat and Parkinson’s would add significant pressure to the ongoing EPA review process, though the agency’s decisions are technically separate from civil court findings.
What This Means in Practice
If you’re not a certified pesticide applicator, you cannot legally buy or use paraquat in the United States. It is not available at garden centers or hardware stores. The people most affected by paraquat policy are agricultural workers, farmers, and residents near large-scale farming operations where aerial or ground spraying occurs.
For those living near agricultural areas, the 2021 restrictions on drift buffers and application methods reduced but did not eliminate potential exposure. The EPA’s ongoing investigation into whether paraquat volatilizes more than previously thought could be significant, since volatile chemicals can travel farther from the application site and linger in the air longer than spray droplets alone.