US pesticide and produce companies sued over banana pesticide

Dole Food Co., Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. and Dow Chemical Co. are being sued by more than 1,000 banana plantation workers from Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama in a new round of cases claiming injury from a pesticide.

Eight separate complaints filed since May 31 in federal court in Delaware over the use of dibromochloropropane.

The pesticide, which was banned in the US back in 1979, was sprayed on fields to eliminate nematode worms. Workers claim they were not advised to wear protective clothing and were never warned they were in any danger.

Around 16,000 Latin American workers have sued over similar cases in US courts over the last 20 years. However, most cases are dismissed with judges saying that they must use the courts in their native countries.

In 2010, a California appeals Judge threw out a $2.3 million 2007 verdict after Dole argued that the plaintiffs had lied about becoming sterile as a result of spraying chemicals.