Syngenta announced that it would cease global production of the toxic herbicide paraquat by the end of June 2026, at a time when public awareness of paraquat’s harms is rising. Across the U.S., farmers and farmworkers have shared their stories of developing lifelong health conditions after being exposed to paraquat. Thousands of lawsuits are pending in U.S. courts, alleging Syngenta failed to warn people of paraquat’s documented links to Parkinson’s disease. And bills to ban or restrict paraquat have been introduced in at least twelve states. 
“It’s great to hear Syngenta is turning off the tap to a major source of paraquat to the U.S. But SinoChem’s corporate business model hasn’t changed,” said Judith Robinson, Executive Director of Coming Clean. “Its facilities will continue to pollute the air and water from the UK to Cancer Alley. Its pesticides are nearly all derived from fossil fuels that contribute to climate change. If you’re concerned for your health because paraquat has been sprayed on your food for years, you should also be concerned about the many other toxic herbicides that remain and could replace it.”

A new analysis and interactive map illustrates the real-world impacts of gutting regulations for the nation’s most hazardous chemical facilities, as recently proposed by the Trump Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Disaster Déjà Vu outlines six Texas facilities with recent histories of back-to-back chemical incidents – including fires, explosions, and worker injuries –  that are regulated by the EPA’s Risk Management Program (RMP). New requirements for RMP facilities, intended to make communities safer from the threat of chemical disasters, were finalized under the Biden Administration and were slated to begin going into effect this year, until President Trump’s EPA proposed rollbacks.  These rollbacks are “a capitulation to industry demands, at the expense of public safety,” concludes the analysis, co-authored by Coming Clean, the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform (EJHA), and Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (T.e.j.a.s.).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed weaker regulations for the nation’s most hazardous chemical facilities, drawing opposition from community, environmental justice, labor and environmental health groups. “This rollback will cost lives,” said Michele Roberts, National Coordinator of the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform. “EJHA affiliates refuse to continue to sacrifice their families’ health and safety for the profits of corporate polluters.”

As I continue to watch in rage at the spectacle of masked, fascist paratroopers in the streets of Minneapolis, I am reminded of the famous quote by Mohandas Gandhi:"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it – always”. Guest blog from Gary Cohen, Board Member of Coming Clean and Co-founder of Health Care Without Harm. 

Coming Clean is a national network committed to environmental health and safety for everyone, regardless of race, gender or immigration status. We condemn the ongoing and escalating violence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and agents against civilians. We stand with our members on the ground who exercise their legal rights to live, protest, and document ICE activity in their neighborhoods. ICE’s escalating violence and clear violation of civil rights threatens everyone’s health and safety.