Local retiree volunteers expertise on poison
September 16, 2021
After a career in work place safety, a Lewis County man is volunteering his expertise next month when Citizens for Clean Water, Air and Food gather to learn about an herbicide and Parkinson's disease.
Rick Koch - no relation to the big business brothers, and his name is pronounced Kosh not Coke - is going to Summertown on Oct. 3 for the citizens meeting in an old church just north of the intersection of Otha and Brace roads. The meeting is from 3-4 p.m. on that first Sunday of next month.
Several years ago, Rocky and Betsy Stone of Summertown founded the citizens group because people were getting sick, their animals were dying and they suspected it was because poison was being sprayed to clear land for no-till farming.
Paraquat is the suspected herbicide. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), among many others, say there's a strong link between the herbicide and Parkinson's disease. Koch isn't a doctor, but he knows what to do in such situations.
He and his wife, Marsha, have lived nearly a mile northeast of the Hohenwald Municipal Golf Course Clubhouse since 1997 when he landed a job at Saturn in Spring Hill.
Koch and Marsha met at a Delco Electronics factory in Oak Creek, Wis. They worked on a hazardous materials team and responded to chemical spill emergencies. They married in 1993 and, about four years later, the plant was set to close, so he transferred.
They had to move in 30 days, looked in Spring Hill, Franklin and Murfreesboro, but concluded they'd get more for less with a house in Lewis County. The Kochs raised two daughters and, after he worked for other businesses in Middle Tennessee, he retired. They're grandparents.
In neighboring Lawrence County, two men sued the Communist Chinese-owned company Syngenta in federal court on May 25 and 26 claiming they have Parkinson's disease because of paraquat. Syngenta makes paraquat.
Koch is well versed on "toxic exposures and reducing exposures" in factories where he worked for labor unions and management, he said. Grassroots organizations are "very beneficial" when looking for a pattern of toxic exposures.
As a safety officer, Koch provided doctors with "safety data sheets on what to test for" when examining patients who may be suffering from a toxic substance.
"In the electronics industry, we were exposed to all kinds of chlorinated solvents," he said. If inhaled, those chemicals "break down in your lungs and get into your blood stream" as something different that may cause cancer.
Doctors know about metabolites and Koch is willing to explain it Oct. 3 to people who want to know more about their health risks. He's referred the citizen's group to resources on these subjects.
The Stones have collected, documented, copied, delivered and filed statements from 140 Lawrence County residents who want Tennessee to do something based on their collective request for help. The state agriculture department received similar complaints a few years ago. A fine of several hundred dollars was imposed.
As the Stones continue their appeal for help from Tennessee officials, the Lewis County Herald asked Gov. Bill Lee about the situation. After hearing a synopsis, the governor wouldn't discuss litigation, but acknowledged Tennessee has a duty to its residents.
"It's important that we protect our citizens at every turn," Lee said. "I think the Department of Environment and Conservation believes that. It is committed to that; the Department of Agriculture as well."
"My commitment is to the people of the state," Lee said in recorded conversation that didn't name Syngenta or that China bans Paraquat's use as do England and Switzerland where it's made. The U.S.A. doesn't ban Paraquat.
Koch is unaware of paraquat use in Lewis County, but it wouldn't surprise him. Paraquat "is real bad news," Koch said. "It's kind of like ... Roundup .... Even though it isn't the same chemical, it causes all kinds of health issues."
First manufactured by Monsanto, Roundup is a well-known weed-killer. Bayer bought it in 2018. It's chemically different from Paraquat, but like paraquat, the products have attracted many lawsuits.
Koch says, "People often don't recognize a problem if it's staring them in their face because they don't have all the facts yet."
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