US Senator Cory Booker has introduced the Pesticide Injury Accountability Act, a bill that would create a federal right for individuals to sue pesticide manufacturers such as Bayer and Syngenta for allegedly causing health issues including cancer and Parkinson's disease. The legislation, announced on Thursday, aims to amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act of 1972 (FIFRA).
The bill seeks to counter efforts by Bayer and agricultural groups to pass state-level laws that block lawsuits accusing companies of failing to warn about product risks. Two states, Georgia and North Dakota, have already enacted so-called 'liability shield' laws, which state that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oversees pesticide labelling and that companies cannot be held liable for exceeding EPA requirements.
Booker's proposed law would not invalidate these state laws but would allow individuals to bring injury claims in federal courts if state avenues are unavailable. 'Rather than providing a liability shield so that foreign corporations are allowed to poison the American people, Congress should instead ensure that these chemical companies can be held accountable in federal court,' Booker said in a statement.
Seventeen environmental, public health and consumer groups have endorsed the measure. Zen Honeycutt of Moms Across America called it 'unconscionable that corporations are pushing our elected officials to manipulate laws that protect their profits over the health and safety of Americans'. The bill's summary names Bayer and Syngenta as key targets, stating they seek liability shields because they 'know the harm their products have already caused'.
Bayer faces around 67,000 lawsuits over its glyphosate-based herbicides, such as Roundup, alleging failure to warn of cancer risks. Syngenta faces several thousand lawsuits over its paraquat weedkillers, linked to Parkinson's disease. Bayer argues its products are safe and necessary for farming, and that federal law preempts failure-to-warn claims. The EPA states glyphosate is 'not likely' carcinogenic.
