A Paris court rejected the lawsuit from Nicaraguan workers who suffered sterility and other illnesses after using the nematicide Nemag贸n. The product, containing DBCP, was banned in the US in 1977 but was exported and used in plantations in Latin America. The victims have been seeking compensation for decades that the companies have not paid.
The double standard in agrochemical regulation 鈿栵笍
The case highlights a persistent practice: the export of pesticides banned in their countries of origin. The EU, for example, allows the manufacture and external sale of substances that it does not authorize in its territory due to their toxicity. This transfers environmental and health risks to regions with laxer regulatory frameworks, perpetuating a cycle of exposure to chemicals linked to serious health problems.
Europe: banned at home, business abroad 馃實
The European Commission promised in 2020 to stop exporting dangerous pesticides that it itself bans. However, shipments continue. It seems that the principle of leading by example is applied selectively: the example is to ban the poison for its own citizens, but to keep it as a profitable export product for others. An out of sight, out of mind policy.