California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
What Is Take-Home Exposure for Paraquat?
The dangers of Paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide, are most often associated with the agricultural workers who mix, load, and spray it. These individuals are on the front lines, handling the chemical directly and facing the highest risk of exposure. However, the poison does not always stay in the fields. It can travel home on skin, hair, and clothing, creating an invisible threat for entire families.
This phenomenon is known as “take-home exposure.” For decades, the spouses and children of farmworkers may have been unknowingly exposed to dangerous levels of Paraquat simply by doing laundry, sharing a hug, or living in a home where contaminated work gear was stored. Now, as science links Paraquat to Parkinson’s Disease, these secondary exposure victims are realizing they may have a right to seek justice.