"Academics call for ban on use of paraquat herbicide", 22 March 2018

ACADEMICS...urged the government to ban the chemical paraquat in Thailand as it has been scientifically linked to sickness, food contamination and problems with child development.

...Research...proved paraquat is a health threat to farmers and consumers, while a representative from the Agriculture Department raised concerns over the economic impact of a ban.

Paraquat is a widely used herbicide in the agricultural sector in Thailand.

Although it is favoured for its efficiency in killing weeds and reducing the costs of farming, concerns are rising over its danger to health and the environment.

Pornpimol Kongtip...said she had studied 113 volunteer pregnant women...from 2011 to 2012, who had been exposed to the herbicides glyphosate and paraquat. She said the chemicals were absorbed into the bodies of both mother and infant, raising health concerns, especially about the impact to the development of children.

Pornpimol added that her study indicated pregnant women who were farmers, lived in farming families or lived close to farmland tended to have higher chances of being exposed to herbicides and transmit chemicals to their children through the umbilical cord.