NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10074
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
prohibiting the use of the pesticide paraquat
PURPOSE:
This legislation would prohibit the use, distribution, sale and purchase
of pesticides containing paraquat.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one provides the legislative findings.
Section two amends section 33-1301 of the environmental conservation law
by adding a new subdivision 14.
Section three establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
According to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation,
paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide, is used in 28 counties across the
state, with trends showing a decrease in use. More than 70 countries
have banned the use of paraquat, including major agricultural-producing
nations like China, Brazil, the European Union, and Turkey. Although
ChemChina, which owns paraquat maker Syngenta, is a Chinese state enter-
prise, paraquat cannot be used in China. Similarly, although Syngenta's
headquarters are in Switzerland, paraquat cannot be used in Switzerland.
And although paraquat is manufactured in the United Kingdom, paraquat
cannot be used legally in the UK.
The evidence linking paraquat to Parkinson's disease is clear. Studies
show that working in fields or living near fields where paraquat has
been sprayed significantly increases the chances of developing
Parkinson's disease. People who live or work near fields where paraquat
has been sprayed could be twice as likely to develop Parkinson's
disease. A study using data from the NIH found people who sprayed para-
quat were more than twice as likely to develop Parkinson's disease as
those who applied other pesticides. A 2025 study found that people
living near golf courses, where paraquat could be used prior to 2021,
were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease. Paraquat has also been
linked to other health harms, such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, forms of
kidney cancer, thyroid cancer, and other thyroid issues. In rural areas,
exposure to paraquat during pregnancy may increase the risk of leukemia.
Paraquat remains in the soil for many years and can be re-suspended in
dust. Banning the use of paraquat in New York State will protect farm-
ers, farmworkers, and rural residents.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:;
This bill shall take effect on January 1, 2027.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10074
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
prohibiting the use of the pesticide paraquat
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. 1. Paraquat or paraquat dichloride is
2 a synthetic, nonselective contact herbicide that is a member of the
3 bipyridylium chemical family and that kills all vegetation that it
4 touches.
5 2. Paraquat was first registered in the United States in 1964, and in
6 1978, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified all
7 paraquat products as restricted use pesticides because of paraquat's
8 high acute toxicity and potential for poisoning.
9 3. Paraquat has been classified as a restricted use pesticide, and 24
10 currently registered pesticide products approved for use in the United
11 States contain paraquat.
12 4. The Pesticide Action Network's 2024 Consolidated List of Banned
13 Pesticides identifies 72 countries as banning the use of paraquat,
14 including Brazil, China, Iraq, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Peru, Saudi
15 Arabia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.
16 5. The European Union banned paraquat in 2007 after a court determined
17 that the relevant regulatory body had failed to apply proper procedures
18 for evaluation of the herbicide and that the regulatory body was not
19 properly thorough in its assessments of paraquat's effects on human and
20 animal health.
21 6. As of January 9, 2026, there were no products registered for use in
22 Canada that contain paraquat.
23 7. Multiple studies have demonstrated that paraquat exposure substan-
24 tially increases the risk of Parkinson's disease in those exposed to the
25 herbicide.
26 8. Other studies suggest a possible link with exposure to paraquat to
27 increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, renal cancer, thyroid cancer,
28 and childhood leukemia.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14468-02-6
A. 10074 2
1 9. In 2021, as part of a product registration review of paraquat
2 required under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
3 (FIFRA), the EPA issued an interim decision approving the continued
4 registration of paraquat for use in the United States, despite multiple
5 public comments objecting to approval and significant scientific
6 evidence regarding the potential health effects of paraquat exposure.
7 10. Multiple parties subsequently petitioned for judicial review of
8 the EPA's interim decision authorizing the continued registration and
9 use of paraquat. In particular, the challenging parties contested the
10 EPA's assessment of the increased risk of Parkinson's disease due to
11 exposure to paraquat from volatilization during use.
12 11. In January 2025, after a motion from the EPA, a court placed that
13 case in abeyance so that the EPA may reconsider its initial conclusion
14 concerning the potential for paraquat to volatilize and to determine
15 whether paraquat continues to meet FIFRA's registration standard.
16 12. The EPA's reevaluation of the risks of paraquat is expected to
17 take years, and the EPA's further evaluation does not prohibit the
18 continued use of paraquat during that review period.
19 13. Instead of waiting for EPA action on whether or how to use para-
20 quat, the state of New York should ban the use of paraquat in order to
21 protect New Yorkers from the known, significant health effects of expo-
22 sure to paraquat.
23 § 2. Section 33-1301 of the environmental conservation law is amended
24 by adding a new subdivision 14 to read as follows:
25 14. a. It shall be unlawful for any person to distribute, sell,
26 purchase, or use for any purpose any pesticide product containing para-
27 quat dichloride or any other chemical form of paraquat.
28 b. As used in this section, "paraquat" means a pesticide with CAS
29 number 4685-14-7 and any salt of that chemical, including methyl violo-
30 gen (CAS number 1910-42-5) and paraquat bismethylsulfate (CAS number
31 2074-50-2).
32 § 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2027.
