California announces voluntary cancellation of common commercial pesticide

Lizzie Kane, The Sacramento Bee on Aug 10, 2026

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The California Department of Pesticide Regulation announced Monday that the pesticide paraquat-dichloride is being phased out, as all the pesticide’s manufacturers have voluntarily canceled their product registrations in the state.

Exposure to the pesticide, which is more commonly referred to simply as paraquat, has been tied to potential thyroid issues and birth defects in humans, according to reports from the state pesticide regulation agency. The research also notes potential negative effects on other species such as birds.

The pesticide is one of the nation’s most widely used herbicides, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Widely used to kill weeds, the product can only be used by professionally licensed applicators, according to the state agency. There are “no homeowner uses and no products registered for application in residential areas,” according to the EPA.

The rollback of paraquat is the first significant pesticide eradication effort in California since around 2019. That year, the California announced the end of chlorpyrifos, a chemical linked to brain disorders.

“For years, communities have fought to end the use of paraquat, a weedkiller associated with negative impacts to human health and wildlife,” said California Secretary for Environmental Protection Yana Garcia in a Monday news release. “California will keep moving toward pest management practices that protect health and our ecosystems.”

Earlier this year, news outlets reported that a truck carrying paraquat spilled around 60 gallons of the herbicide in Dorris in Siskiyou County, which borders Oregon. The spill led to a shelter-in-place order, news outlets reported.

In 2024, AB 1963 passed the Legislature, which required California’s pesticide regulation department to review paraquat and make a determination on its use by Jan. 1, 2029. The department could either retain, suspend or cancel the product’s registration or curb its use.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is also conducting its own reviews of paraquat.

The Environmental Working Group, a national advocacy and research organization, celebrated California’s decision to curb paraquat in the state.

“There’s a lot of other pesticides we need to stop using but to have one definitely canceled is a real accomplishment,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, senior vice president for the Environmental Working Group in California. “It took too long, but we got here. I hope the rest of the United States follows suit and eventually the federal government.”

In June, Vermont became the first state to ban paraquat. Del Chiaro said that 70 countries have banned the pesticide.

California Farm Bureau denounced the pesticide’s cancellation.

“Paraquat has been an important tool for California farmers, and its loss raises a broader concern about California’s increasingly difficult marketplace,” said Isabella Quinonez, a California Farm Bureau spokesperson. “With the cost and complexity of maintaining products in the state continuing to grow, it is no surprise that manufacturers are leaving the California marketplace, leaving farmers with fewer tools, higher costs and less access to innovation.”

The Wonderful Company, one of California’s largest agricultural companies, is one of the top users of paraquat in the state, according to an analysis of state pesticide use records from the Environmental Working Group.

A spokesperson for The Wonderful Company told The Sacramento Bee on Monday that the business has decreased its use of the pesticide by more than 97% since 2019, with a goal to phase out usage by the end of 2026. The pesticide was “only used for weed control and never directly on fruit or trees,” the spokesperson said.

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