Bill Proposing Legal Immunity for Pesticide Manufacturers Advances
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill Tuesday adding legal protections for pesticide manufacturers over failure to adequately warn consumers about the potential health risks associated with use of their products, reports Robin Opsahl at the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Senate Study Bill 3188 would provide civil liability defense to pesticide manufacturers in lawsuits over adverse health impacts of products that meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency labeling requirements. These liability protections do not apply to Chinese state-owned companies — a move targeting Syngenta, an agriculture science and chemical company owned by the state-owned ChemChina.
The legislation is supported by Bayer, the manufacturer of RoundUp, a pesticide linked with development of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 2020, Bayer agreed to pay $10 billion to settle cancer lawsuits.
In a subcommittee meeting on the bill Monday, Brad Epperly, speaking on behalf of Bayer, said the company is not able to make additional warnings outside of EPA regulations and current law. He said the bill would prevent lawsuits made on unproven bases, securing farmers’ use of certain chemical tools.
Read more at the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
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