Illegal use of pesticide is blamed for ‘cancer disaster’ in Caribbean

Illegal pesticide use of chlordecone, banned in 1993, is being blamed for the increase of prostate cancer in men in Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Carribean. It is being reported that 1 in 2 men will develop prostate cancer and have probably accounted for the high accounts of genital malformation and fertility rates. Chlordecone stays in the soil for up to a century, contaminating the food chain and water supply. This area is the worlds eighth largest banana exporter.