Maui County officials are considering rolling back a ban on pesticides and herbicides in public parks and golf courses. This move comes only three years after the County Council voted unanimously to ban harmful chemical pesticides and herbicides from public land after hearing public testimony and research on the dangers of these chemicals to people, land, and water.
The Parks Department is seeking an exemption, citing challenges in maintaining these areas to the standard of other competing areas without chemical treatments. They cited feedback from the public, some of whom objected to the smell of some of the organic treatments used.
We can help.
History of Pesticides in Hawaii
Hawaii has long been a testing ground for modified crops because of its year-round growing conditions. Bayer/Monsanto and other companies have planted new genetically modified crops on the islands and tested their resistance to herbicides and pesticides. Although for years, people thought the chemical residue would just blow away or run harmlessly into the ocean, many families began to see more and more birth defects, cancers, and other health problems, which they linked to the use of these harmful chemicals. Families have sued Bayer/Monsanto for the birth defects caused by their proximity to the fields where these toxic pesticides and herbicides were used.
Damage Caused by Pesticides
Birth defects are a common result of exposure to chemical pesticides and herbicides. These toxic chemicals have also been linked to endocrine and reproductive issues and many types of cancers.
In addition to serious health problems caused by exposure to chemical pesticides and herbicides, Maui has experienced environmental effects. Coral reefs have shrunk since the state began monitoring them in 1999, with coral cover decreasing rapidly in more recent years. Fish populations have decreased over this same time period, based on qualitative assessments of fish around the islands of Maui and Lanai.
Because of these and other issues in the state of Hawai’i, lawmakers and the public have been supportive of banning harmful chemicals. They passed one of the first bans of chlorpyrifos in 2018. The legislature banned the use of PFAS in certain products in 2022 and the use of sunscreens that contain certain chemicals in 2023. The Maui chemical ban fits well within this framework of protecting the state’s lands and people from the long-term effects of dangerous pesticides, herbicides, and other chemical products.
How We Help Victims of Pesticide Exposure
With a wealth of experience prosecuting herbicide and pesticide exposure cases, our Hawai‘i pesticides lawyers have battled corporate giants on behalf of individuals like you for over 40 years, aggressively fighting to hold them responsible for failing to keep workers safe. If you have suffered catastrophic injury or cancer caused by Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller or other harmful chemicals, we can help.
