Qui a fabriqué le chlordécone ?
Qui a fabriqué le chlordécone ?
En 1951, les chimistes Gilbert et Giolito synthétisent la chlordécone. Deux brevets sont déposés l'année suivante ; tous deux assignés à l'entreprise Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation. Le pesticide est mis sur le marché en 1958 par Allied Chemical, au moins sous deux noms commerciaux : Kepone et GC-1189.
Comment Eliminer le chlordécone ?
Si la concentration du chlordécone y diffère selon les parcelles, la molécule est omniprésente. Pour s'en affranchir, il développe la culture hors-sol, qui est aujourd'hui la solution technique souvent employée pour les cultures de tomates.
What is chlordecone and when was it banned?
- In the US a factory producing chlordecone - sold commercially as kepone - was shut down in 1975 after workers fell seriously ill there. But Antilles banana growers continued to use the pesticide. What is chlordecone?
What is chlordecone and why is it being used on bananas?
- Banana plantations in the Antilles used it to eradicate root borers - weevils that attack banana plants. Chlordecone was already recognised as hazardous in 1972.
Does chlordecone cause hormone-dependent cancer?
- "Chlordecone contributes to the higher rate [in the Antilles], but it is not the only factor," Prof Multigner said. Ethnicity and lifestyle are also factors in hormone-dependent cancers. Prostate cancer is more common among Afro-Caribbean and Afro-American men than among white Europeans or Asians.
What are the symptoms of chlordecone toxicity?
- Their symptoms included nervous tremors, slurred speech, short-term memory loss and low sperm counts. As French agriculture minister in 1972 Jacques Chirac, who later became president, authorised chlordecone as a pesticide.
