Dole, Dow liable over banana pesticide infertility claim

AFP, November, 2007

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Six workers left infertile after exposure to a pesticide used in Nicaraguan banana plantations were awarded more than three million dollars damages by a Los Angeles jury on Monday.

Jurors at Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that food giants Dole and the Dow Chemical Co were jointly liable for the physical damage suffered by workers who harvested bananas in Nicaragua during the 1970s and 1980s.

The Dow-manufactured pesticide was used by Dole to kill microscopic worms in banana tree roots. The case was the first involving the chemical, commonly known as DBCP, to be tried in the United States.

The jury assigned financial liability to Dole for all six plaintiffs, saying the company was 80 percent responsible for what happened to five of ...