UNITED STATES: Costa Ricans sue chemical companies

UNITED STATES: Costa Ricans sue chemical companies

Thousands of Costa Rican banana farmers have launched a lawsuit against Shell Chemical Co, Dow Chemical, Dole Food Company, Chiquita Brands International and Fresh Del Monte Produce. The farmers are demanding compensation for sterility, testicular atrophy, miscarriages, birth defects, liver damage and cancer caused by the companies' use of dibromochloropropane (DBCP) in Central America, years after its 1979 banning in the United States. A 1977 US Environment Protection Agency report found that DBCP could cause cancer and sterility. In 2001, Nicaraguan courts ordered Shell, Dole and Dow to compensate farmers because of the drug, but the companies refused, and countersued for fraud, asking US$17 billion in damages. Other Nicaraguans have filed lawsuits in US courts over the issue. So far, none have been successful.

From Green Left Weekly, December 1, 2004.

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From GLW issue 608