The ongoing litigation against Dole Food Company is seemingly close to an end. The world's largest fruits and vegetable producer has agreed to settle the claims of more than 5,000 Central and South American farm workers represented by the Texas personal injury law firm Provost Umphrey.
During the 1970's and 1980's, Dole used dibromochloropropane, a pesticide known as DBCP, on their banana plantations. Thousands of laborers working on these agricultural plantations in Central and South American have now become sterile as a result of being exposed to the toxic chemical.
In 1977, the U.S. banned DBCP after the chemical was linked to infertility in male workers exposed to the pesticide.
The tentative settlement includes plaintiffs from Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Honduras. DBCP cases brought on behalf of workers in Guatemala and Panama, however, are still pending.
