Pesticides return home on US-bound produce

For the period of May, 2007, the USDA reported the total value of monthly agricultural imports to the U.S. amounted to $6.1 billion. Of that total value, 15 percent arrived here from Mexico, 15 percent from Canada, three percent from Chile and three percent from Brazil (USDA April 2007). Latin American produce historically has found a warm welcome in the U.S.; however, these products often carry on them dangerous pesticide residues. Most recently, on July 18, President Bush set an urgent timetable of 60 days for the newly formed Cabinet-level committee to announce safety limits on produce, especially on food products being imported into the U.S.

According to a Trade and Environment Database (TED) case study regarding pesticide use in Mexico, which is published online by American University, “Toxicity threatens U.S. consumers in the ‘circle of poison’ effect in which unregistered or banned pesticides are exported to Mexico and sprayed on crops whose produce is then exported back to the U.S.” More specifically, dibromochloropropane (DBCP) was banned in the U.S. in 1979, yet it continues to be used on crops in developing hemispheric countries such as Nicaragua and Costa Rica, years after its cut-off date. Since then, there have been numerous reports of the chemical’s baleful effects. But in the months to come, tropical plantation workers will finally have their day in a U.S. court, as they try to seek compensation for the residual harm arising out of pesticide use which, for many of them, has ruined their lives. The trial began on July 19 in a Los Angeles courtroom and is expected to last two to three months.

Not Acknowledged to be Dangerous Until Symptoms Are Exhibited

The Pesticide Action Network of North America describes DBCP as a carcinogen, a ground water contaminant, a developmental or reproductive toxin and a suspected endocrine disruptor. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that DBCP can potentially cause kidney and liver damage as well as cancer, especially if one is exposed to levels greater than the maximum contaminant level of .0002 mg/L for an extended period of time. The pesticide in question was manufactured by chemical companies like Dow Chemical and Shell Oil to be used as a fumigant for nematode worms in the U.S. until it was pulled off the shelves in 1979. It had been used as a spray on agricultural produce such as cucumbers, grapes, tomatoes, squash, carrots, okra, camellia and roses. The EPA (2006) established that by 1974, farmers in the U.S. were treating crops with 9.8 million pounds of DBCP, and by 1977, 831,000 pounds of it were in use in California alone. There is a considerable likelihood that DBCP often seeped into the groundwater supply during this period.

Banana Plantations are a Dangerous Place

According to a press statement by the Dole Fresh Fruit Company on November 10, 2002, there were nine DBCP cases pending in the U.S. against the fruit company, in which plantation workers have alleged injury to them due to DBCP exposure. The latest set of lawsuits, filed in 2004 against Dole Fresh Fruit Company and Standard Fruit Company, have recently reached the point where the first case is about to be heard by a U.S. court. All told, five lawsuits involving at least 5,000 agricultural workers from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama are waiting to be heard.

Dole has been aware of the extent of the Nicaraguan injury claims for some time. In a 2002 press release, the company acknowledged that they “are aware of