A French farmer who can no longer perform
his routine farming duties because of permanent pesticide injuries has had his
day in court, literally, and the perpetrator of his injuries found guilty of
chemical poisoning. The French court in Lyon ruled that Monsanto’s Lasso
weedkiller formula, which contains the active ingredient alachlor, caused Paul
Francois to develop lifelong neurological damage that manifests as persistent
memory loss, headaches, and stuttering during speech.
Reports indicate that the 47-year-old
farmer sued Monsanto back in 2004 after inhaling the Lasso product while
cleaning his sprayer tank equipment. Not long after, Francois began
experiencing lasting symptoms that prevented him from working, which he says
were directly linked to exposure to the chemical. Since Lasso’s packaging did
not bear adequate warnings about the dangers of exposure, Francois alleged at
the time that Monsanto was essentially negligent in providing adequate
protection for its customers.
To the surprise of many, the French court
agreed with the claims and evidence presented before it, declaring earlier this
year that “Monsanto is responsible for Paul Francois’ suffering after he
inhaled the Lasso product … and must entirely compensate him.” The court is
said to be seeking expert opinion on how to gauge Francois’ losses in order to
determine precisely how much Monsanto will be required to compensate him in the
case.
“It is a historic decision in so far as it
is the first time that a (pesticide) maker is found guilty of such a poisoning,” said Francois
Lafforgue, Paul Francois’ lawyer, to Reuters earlier
in the year.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to alachlor can cause
damage to the liver, kidneys, spleen, and eyes, and may lead to the development
of anemia and even cancer. The EPA apparently views alachlor as so dangerous,
in fact, that the agency has set the maximum contaminant level goals (MCLG) for
alachlor to zero in order to “prevent potential health problems.” (http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/alachlor.cfm)
In 2007, France officially banned Lasso
from use in the country in accordance with a European Union (EU) directive
enacted in 2006 prohibiting the chemical from further use on crops in any
member countries. But despite all the evidence proving that alachlor can
disrupt hormonal balance, induce reproductive or developmental problems, and
cause cancer, the chemical is still being used on conventional crops throughout
the U.S. to this very day. (http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_ChemReg.jsp?Rec_Id=PC35160)
“I am alive today, but part of the farming
population is going to be sacrificed and is going to die because of
(alachlor),” added Francois to Reuters.
Source: NaturalNews.com
