#dbcp

Across Panama, there are more than 1,100 former banana workers who say that a pesticide used by United Fruit on the plantations made them sterile. The pesticide, called Di-bromochloropropane or DBCP, targets microscopic worms that damaged banana plants. But it can also affect men's fertility. Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, tens of thousands of former banana workers have sued the companies that manufactured DBCP and the fruit companies which used it. The fruit companies in question are Dole Fruit, Del Monte and Chiquita, and the manufacturers Shell, Dow Chemical, Occidental Chemical and AMVAC.

After almost three decades, there has been only one case in which a US court considered whether DBCP caused sterility. Six Nicaraguan banana workers were found to have been made sterile by DBCP, but that landmark judgement was overturned on appeal, when the companies successfully argued that the case had been marred by corruption. To date, there have been no successful litigations in the US by banana workers. Their cases have been dismissed on procedural matters or the companies have settled out of court, making payments to some plaintiffs, but not accepting liability. There are currently just two active cases in the US. Scott Hendler, the lawyer pursuing them on behalf of workers from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama, says the companies are "resorting to procedural matters again and again". He wants a jury to see the evidence. "There is no question that DBCP can cause sterility," he says. "The question is whether each of these individual plaintiffs sustained sufficient exposure in their own right to be a substantial factor in causing their own infertility."

The lawsuits state there was evidence that DBCP caused sterility in animals as early as the 1950s. Scientists working for two of the manufacturers - Dow and Shell - carried out exposure studies on rabbits, rats and mice, which showed a reduction in sperm counts and testicular atrophy in some cases. Dr Charles Hine, one of the scientists who carried out the tests, said in a 1961 draft report for US regulators that repeated exposure to DBCP could affect human reproduction. But according to company correspondence, Shell's official in charge of registering chemicals with the authorities responded: "Leave out speculation about possible harmful conditions to man. This is not a treatise on safe use." When the pesticide was licenced in 1964, the label made no reference to possible impacts on male fertility. Dr Hine, who became a consultant for Dow and Shell, had also advised wearing impermeable protective clothing, but the pesticide's label did not mention any need for protective gear.

The Forsaken Saga For Justice

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