"Some US lawmakers are rushing to introduce legislation to reverse the impact of a US Supreme Court ruling handed down last week that overturned years of precedent by limiting consumer lawsuits against pesticide companies.
US Rep Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine, and Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, on Monday introduced an amendment to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) – the key law for regulating pesticides. Under their proposed amendment to FIFRA, people who are exposed to pesticides they blame for causing health problems would once again be able to sue companies for failing to warn them of health risks.
The Supreme Court’s decision most immediately benefitted Bayer and Syngenta, global agrochemical companies that are currently facing thousands of lawsuits brought by users of their weed killing products, but other pesticide companies also benefit from the protections provided in the court ruling.
“People are so angry,” Pingree said in an interview. “People want to see us take action. And I no longer want to just sit on the sidelines and say, ‘oh, well, you can’t beat the chemical companies,’ … I think people expect more of us than that.”"
