Subject: FUNGICIDE POLLUTION COSTS DUPONT MILLIONS
Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 18:56:41 -0500
From: Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State
of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Dear Mr. Helliker,
I thought you might like to read an article entitled: FUNGICIDE
POLLUTION COSTS DUPONT MILLIONS.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, February 28, 2001 (ENS) -
Chemical giant DuPont has been ordered to pay $12.3 million in damages to an
Ecuadoran shrimp farm - the second such ruling against the company in three
months.
A jury in Broward County ordered the multimillion
penalties after lawyers argued that agricultural runoff of DuPont's fungicide
Benlate had harmed shrimp production on Ecuador's shrimp farm Aquamar, reports
the "South Florida Sun-Sentinel."
In December, another south Florida jury ordered DuPont to
pay $10 million for damages at another Ecuadoran shrimp farm - also from
Benlate runoff. DuPont is appealing that verdict, and is expected to appeal
this week's decision as well.
At least 30 cases have been brought against DuPont by
shrimp farms in Ecuador, the world's third largest shrimp producer. Hundreds
more have been brought against the chemical company in recent years by farmers
and other businesses in several companies, all related to Benlate.
Many of the Benlate cases have been tried in Florida
because DuPont tested and marketed the fungicide in south Florida, and runs
its Latin America and Caribbean sales division from Coral Gables, Florida.
So far, DuPont has spent more than $1 billion to settle
these claims. About $200 million of that has gone to one law firm - Krupnick
Campbell Malone Roselli, the Fort Lauderdale firm that represented Aquamar in
the trial that ended Tuesday.
Well Mr. Helliker, just another
example of the "sound science" behind your "registration"
of POISONS to "protect" us and our crops!
Why must there be so much needless pain and destruction before you will
allow the use of safe and far more effective alternatives to actually control
pest problems?
Respectfully,
Stephen L. Tvedten
If you would like to be included in our mailing list for continuing
information on pesticides, Email Us.
with "subscribe" in the subject line.