A decree will make compensation possible via a new fund dedicated to victims of occupational diseases linked to pesticides, the Minister of Agriculture announced on Sunday.
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Decree recognizing prostate cancer as an occupational disease due to the pesticide chlordecone will be issued “before the end of the year”, assured Sunday, November 28 the Minister of Agriculture and Food, Julien Denormandie. “I am committed to it. The government is committed to it (…) We are deploying a 92 million euro plan “, declared the minister in the program “Dimanche en Politique”, on France 3.
@J_Denormandie announces the publication of a decree “before the end of the year” to recognize prostate cancer as an occupational disease, linked to the use of pesticides, including #Chlordecone. #Guadeloupe #Martinique CC @ 1st
@ France3tv #Dimpol pic.twitter.com/wAmDTiv6Zo
– DimancheEnPolitique (@DimPolitique) November 28, 2021
This decree is part of the fourth chlordecone plan, announced in 2020 and intended to fight against the consequences of the long-term pollution of this pesticide. Poisoned farmers will be compensated through a new fund dedicated to victims of occupational diseases linked to pesticides, the ministry confirmed.
Chlordecone, banned in France in 1990, continued to be authorized in West Indian banana fields by ministerial dispensation until 1993, causing significant and lasting pollution. An expert report from the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) published in June confirmed a “Strong presumption of a link between exposure to chlordecone in the general population and the risk of developing prostate cancer”.
West Indian populations have one of the highest prostate cancer incidence rates in the world. More than 90% of the adult population in Guadeloupe and Martinique is contaminated with chlordecone, according to Public Health France.