Fall / Winter 2024 | Policy 17
Left , Ted Thompson , MJFF ’ s senior vice president , public policy ; Representative Jennifer Wexton ( D-VA ); Kristophe Diaz , executive director , CurePSP ; and Parkinson ’ s advocates Allie Signorelli and Rick Grant traveled to Capitol Hill to witness the introduction of new legislation to research environmental risk factors for brain diseases .
PD Policy Advocates Rally to Ban Harmful Chemicals
Only about 30 percent of Parkinson ’ s risk is explained by genetics , meaning other factors can significantly influence the disease ’ s development . Among them is exposure to chemicals like paraquat and trichloroethylene ( TCE ).
Paraquat , an herbicide used on farms , is thought to increase Parkinson ’ s risk by 100 to 500 percent . A 2023 University of California , San Francisco study found that military veterans exposed to TCE , a commercial solvent , had a 70 percent higher risk than those who had not been exposed .
MJFF has called for the ban of these toxins by participating in a joint lawsuit against the U . S . Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ), sharing over 90 scientific studies with the agency and logging hundreds of thousands of petition signatures , calls and emails .
Meanwhile , the number of countries banning paraquat — including those that make and export it — has reached 70 .
In August , Representatives Jennifer Wexton ( D-VA ) and Gus Bilirakis ( R-FL ) introduced a new bill , the HEALTHY BRAINS Act , to direct the federal government to research environmental risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases .
In September , MJFF ’ s National Day of Action united advocates across 50 states who sent over 12,000 messages to officials in support of a paraquat ban and the HEALTHY BRAINS Act .
A decision on the reauthorization of paraquat is expected in January 2025 . At the time of this writing , we also await official word on the TCE ban proposed by EPA in 2023 .
Get involved at michaeljfox . org / advocacy .