Gary Mund, a former crew worker, claims that the herbicide he used on his job caused his Parkinson's disease, while the manufacturer denies any causal link.
It was the late 1980s when Gary Mund felt his pinky tremble. At first it seemed like a random occurrence, but pretty quickly he realized something was seriously wrong. Within two years, Mund — a crew worker with the Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside County — was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The illness would eventually consume much of his life, clouding his speech, zapping most of his motor skills and taking away his ability to work and drive. 'It sucks,' said Mund, 69.
He speaks tersely, because every word is a hard-won battle. 'I was told the herbicide wouldn't hurt you.' The herbicide is paraquat, an extremely powerful weed killer that Mund sprayed on vegetation as part of his job from about 1980 to 1985. Mund contends the product is responsible for his disease, but the manufacturer denies there is a causal link between the chemical and Parkinson's. Paraquat is manufactured by Syngenta, a Swiss-based company owned by the Chinese government
Gary Mund Parkinson's Disease Herbicide Paraquat Syngenta Weed Killer