A 25-year battle by Latin American banana labourers to win compensation from companies including...Shell for exposure to a pesticide which they claim left them sterile and crippled by ill health is set to finally come to a close after dozens of workers filed damages claims. A series of lawsuits filed in Louisiana [USA] claims that…Dole and Chiquita, allowed the…fumigant known as DBCP developed by Shell’s American subsidiary and chemical company Dow to be used across plantations for more than two decades despite knowing…that it potentially caused devastating side-effects in humans…In a statement, Dole…said: “There is no reliable evidence demonstrating that field application of DBCP led to sterility among farm workers... Nor is there any reliable evidence scientific evidence that DBCP causes any other injuries in humans.” A spokesman for Dow said: “We will vigorously defend these claims and we are confident in our defence.” Shell and Chiquita did not respond to requests for comment.