Nicaraguans Awarded $3.2
Million Over Oesticides
Six Nicaraguan farm
workers have won $3.2
million dollars in
damages after a Los
Angeles jury agreed that
they had been rendered
sterile by the use of a
banned pesticide by the
US company Dole Food.
The judgment is the
first in what could be a
series of lawsuits
against the company, and
marks the first time
that foreign farm
workers have
successfully sued the US
food giant in a US
court. Four more cases
are pending in Los
Angeles, brought by
thousands of workers
from Central America.
The pesticide, DBCP, was
sprayed on banana crops
at night. Its makers,
Dow Chemical Co, claimed
that it eradicated pests
that attack roots and
boosted the weight of
banana crops by 20%. But
its use was suspended in
the US in 1977 after
workers in California
were found to have a low
or zero sperm count.
Lawyers for the
plaintiffs argued that
Dole continued to use
the chemical even though
it was aware of the
potential health risks.
The chemical, argued
Duane Miller, lead
counsel for the workers,
robbed the workers of
their "male sexual
identity".
Court papers showed that
in the mid-1970s Dow
warned Dole of the
dangers associated with
the chemical and ceased
production. But Dole
threatened to sue if Dow
did not honour its
pre-existing contract.
Dole subsequently took
delivery of 500,000
tonnes of the chemical,
using much of it in
Central America.
Stephen Hendricks of the
Pesticide Action Network
praised the decision.
"It's good to see
justice done for all
these workers," he told
the LA Times. But Dole
officials said the firm
would appeal against it.
Courts in Nicaragua have
already awarded $600m
against Dole and other
companies over use of
the chemical. |
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