Hawaii High Court Revives Banana Worker Suit Over DBCP Pesticide
Hawaii's Supreme Court revived banana worker claims against Dole and Dow over DBCP hazards.
Why it matters: Legal and compliance professionals face risk when banned chemicals, like DBCP, are sold or used overseas. The suit sets precedent on multinational liability for past product harms and cross-border worker protections.
- Hawaii's Supreme Court reinstated banana workers' claims against Dole Food and Dow Chemical over DBCP.
- DBCP, banned in the U.S. in 1979, was shipped abroad for years afterward by U.S. firms.
- The suit cites severe health impacts, including sterility and cancer, among Central American workers.
- Courts previously denied class action status; the revived case moves forward for six named plaintiffs.
The Hawaii Supreme Court has revived a lawsuit from workers in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Panama, alleging they were harmed by exposure to dibromochloropropane (DBCP) on banana plantations. The suit targets Dole Food Company and Dow Chemical Company.
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned DBCP in 1979 due to its link to sterility, testicular atrophy, miscarriages, and cancer.
- Despite the ban, companies including Dow and Shell Oil continued to export DBCP to Central and South American plantations for years, raising legal issues about corporate responsibility abroad.
The current case involves six individual plaintiffs, after U.S. courts rejected requests to grant the suit class action status—meaning only their claims will proceed, not those of all similarly affected workers. The workers allege lasting harm from DBCP, with health impacts echoed in a peer-reviewed study documenting high rates of acute chemical injuries among Costa Rican banana farm laborers.
The complaint highlights evidence from prior litigation on DBCP's risks. In an earlier appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recognized DBCP as a nematode pesticide that "is alleged to cause sterility, testicular atrophy, miscarriages, liver damage, cancer and other ailments you wouldn't wish on anyone." (Patrickson v. Dole Food Co., 251 F.3d 795, 798 (9th Cir. 2001)).
This revived case illustrates the long-term liability and worker safety obligations for multinational manufacturers dealing with hazardous legacy chemicals, even decades after their use is halted in the U.S.
By the numbers:
- 1979 — Year DBCP was banned by the EPA in the U.S.
- 21% — Proportion of agrichemical-related injuries that were acute intoxications among Costa Rican banana workers (1998 study)
Yes, but: The case now advances only for six individual plaintiffs, not as a class action representing all affected workers.
What's next: The six banana workers' individual claims will now proceed to trial or potential settlement in Hawaii state court.