Michael J. Fox Foundation urges Vermont committee to back H.739 to ban paraquat
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Summary
Zack Hardy of the Michael J. Fox Foundation testified in favor of H.739, saying decades of research link paraquat exposure to Parkinson’s disease, noting more than 70 countries have banned the herbicide and that the companion senate bill would permit individual emergency use by the agriculture secretary.
Zack Hardy, senior state government relations manager for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, told a Vermont House committee that H.739 would prohibit the use and sale of the herbicide paraquat in the state and urged lawmakers to act to protect public health.
Hardy said Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological disease that affects movement and can include tremor, slowness and balance problems, and he said environmental exposures — not only genetics — are linked to increased risk. "Decades of research has shown that people who work with or live near areas where paraquat is applied have a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease," he said, and he added that individuals who handled paraquat "were about twice as likely to develop the disease compared to those using other pesticides." He noted that more than 70 countries, including the European Union, Brazil, Germany and China, have banned paraquat.
Hardy provided state and national context. He said more than 1,000,000 Americans live with Parkinson’s and there are about 90,000 new U.S. diagnoses annually; in Vermont he said about 2,600 people live with the disease and estimated direct and indirect costs to the state at more than $120,000,000 per year. "With this legislation, Vermont has the opportunity to lead the nation by becoming the very first state to prohibit the use and sale of paraquat," Hardy said, urging the committee to act.
Committee members asked technical and policy questions. One member asked Hardy to explain the distinction between Parkinson’s disease and parkinsonism; Hardy said diagnosis can be difficult, that the disease affects people across age groups — including young-onset cases in their 30s–50s — and that access to neurological care affects diagnosis timelines. On exposure, Hardy said the Environmental Protection Agency has designated paraquat as "highly, acutely toxic," and he cited studies linking higher incidence among agricultural workers and people living near treated sites.
Members pressed on alternatives and operational concerns. A licensed pesticide applicator on the panel expressed worry that banning paraquat could remove a tool used to fight certain invasive species and asked whether emergency-use authority for the secretary of agriculture should be retained. Hardy said the companion senate bill includes language permitting the secretary to authorize individual uses on a case-by-case basis, and he acknowledged that discussions about alternatives and operational details would require additional technical testimony.
Hardy also identified other chemicals of concern for Parkinson’s researchers — for example, past attention to trichloroethylene (TCE) and ongoing interest in PFAS — but said paraquat has the clearest body of evidence linking it to Parkinson’s. He offered to share scientific studies and follow up with the committee on both mechanism and animal-model results; he cited laboratory work in mice in which paraquat exposure produced Parkinson-like movement problems.
The committee thanked Hardy and said it expected to invite additional scientific experts to address technical questions about exposure pathways, dose-response, alternative controls and the specifics of emergency-use language. No formal vote or motion on H.739 was recorded during this hearing.
