TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

Why France's Caribbean islands are a prostate cancer hotspot

Why France's Caribbean islands are a prostate cancer hotspot

Banana farmers in Guadeloupe and Martinique were poisoned by a banned chemical. Now they could be compensated by French authorities

French farm workers poisoned by a cancer-causing pesticide will be able to claim compensation by the end of the year, a government minister said on Sunday.

France's minister for food and agriculture Julien Denormandie said that a decree recognising prostate cancer as an occupational disease caused by the chemical chlordecone would be issued "before the end of the year".

While chlordecone was banned in France in 1990, an exemption was granted that allowed the chemical to be used in the banana plantations of the French West Indies until 1993.

As a result, over 90 per cent of the adult population of Guadeloupe and Martinique are thought to have been contaminated by the pesticide, according to France's public health agency.

Why now?


France's overseas departments in Guadeloupe and Martinique have some of the highest incidence rates of prostate cancer in the world.

The link between chlordecone and cancer was confirmed in a report by the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) published in June, which highlighted a "strong presumption of a link between exposure to chlordecone in the general population and the risk of prostate cancer".

A 2010 study on chlordecone exposure and prostate cancer found that the pesticide continued to have an effect on people in the French West Indies even after it was banned, as it did not degrade over time.

"Permanently polluted soils and waters have remained the primary source of foodstuffs contamination, and human beings continue to be exposed to this chemical," the study said.

"There has been a legitimate demand, for a very long time now, from professionals, that prostate cancer be recognised as an occupational disease linked to the use of products, notably chlordecone," Denormandie told the broadcaster France 3 on Sunday.

What will change?


By designating prostate cancer as an occupational disease, sufferers, survivors and their families will be entitled to claim compensation.

"The government is investing to repair the environment polluted by chlordecone. It is a €92 million plan that we are deploying," Denormandie said.

The history of chlordecone has also shaped recent public responses to COVID-19 restrictions in the French West Indies.

Frustrations over the government’s mishandling of the toxic pesticide, led to widespread distrust of health guidelines, culminating in violent protests in Martinique earlier this month.

Many islanders do not support the idea that health workers must be vaccinated, while the COVID passport barring the unvaccinated from entering bars and restaurants has also proved to be unpopular.

Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×