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Cases / Pesticides and agrochemicals · Global · 1976–2026

Syngenta settles thousands of paraquat lawsuits and keeps selling diquat

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 2 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

Paraquat, sued over claims it causes Parkinson's disease, is still produced and exported from countries that ban it at home, and its maker has moved to diquat as a substitute. The New Lede reported more than 8,000 lawsuits in 2026, and Syngenta settled without admitting liability.

What?
Paraquat, a herbicide sued over Parkinson's claims, is still produced and exported after national bans; Syngenta has settled lawsuits without admitting liability. The New Lede
Where?
Global: lawsuits in the United States; bans in Switzerland (1989) and China (2016–17); exports from the UK and China to lower-income countries
When?
1976 to 2026
Who?
Gained
  • Syngenta — Held a 40–50% paraquat market share for decades and keeps selling diquat as a substitute
Lost
  • Sinochem (parent of Syngenta) — Company funds bear the settlement; no personal penalty is recorded
Harmed
  • Claimants alleging Parkinson's disease from paraquat — More than 8,000 lawsuits reported in 2026; a judge pressed claimants to accept the settlement The New Lede
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Products banned at home continue to be exported; when paraquat is restricted, diquat is sold as a substitute; lawsuits end in settlements without admission of liability.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

According to The New Lede, Syngenta moved in April 2025 to settle more than 5,800 lawsuits claiming paraquat causes Parkinson's disease; the settlement amount has not been disclosed.

The New Lede reported in July 2026 that more than 8,000 lawsuits were involved and that a judge had pressed claimants to accept the settlement.

Syngenta settled a claim without admitting liability for 187.5 million dollars in 2021. Since 2015 the UK has exported 122,831 tonnes of paraquat, 62% of it to lower-income countries, according to the sources reviewed.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The 2025 settlement amount has not been disclosed. Hundreds of claimants rejected settlement offers, according to the sources reviewed.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: GRAIN's October 2016 open letter on paraquat exports from China.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the company's position that science does not prove a link and that the emetic additive is safe.
    • None on record The volume of paraquat exported from China and South Korea to the US, about 78 million pounds, is not linked to a source in the sources reviewed.
    • Unclear Whether diquat substitution has its own health record is not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

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    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
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