Elected officials from the West Indies described Wednesday, December 22 as "
progress
" but "
still incomplete
", even "
unsatisfactory
", the recognition by the State of prostate cancer as an occupational disease linked to exposure to the pesticide used during decades in the banana plantations.
To read also "Impossible not to draw the parallel": in the West Indies, a mistrust against the vaccine covid related to the scandal of the chlordecone
"
It is a step forward but it is still incomplete
", told AFP the environmentalist mayor of Pointe-à-Pitre, Harry Durimel, who for years has been fighting for the condemnation of those responsible for the chlordecone scandal, after the publication in the Official Journal of a decree recognizing exposure to the pesticide as an occupational disease.
“
Chlordecone poisoning is not the fault of banana professionals only, but of all populations.
I remind you that more than 90% of West Indies are contaminated,
”he said, recalling that the pesticide has been used for decades in the West Indies.
"A small step forward, but unsatisfactory"
Olivier Serva, member of the majority and president of the overseas delegation to the National Assembly, recalled that the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron had "
been the first to recognize the responsibility of the State in this scandal, in September 2018
”. This is "
a small step forward, but unsatisfactory
", he added, in view of the provisions necessary to benefit from the compensation, which maintain "
the vagueness
" on eligible people and concern a "
reduced spectrum.
".
In Martinique, Philippe Pierre-Charles, spokesperson for a collective of associations engaged in the fight for the recognition of the effects of chlordecone, considered that the “
fight is not over
”.
"
We must also consider other pathologies which are linked to chlordecone and which are not taken into account such as endometriosis or breast cancer,
" he explained.
Read also Chlordecone: prostate cancer recognized as an occupational disease
Chlordecone was authorized between 1972 and 1993 in the banana plantations of the Antilles and infiltrated the soils for hundreds of years, polluting water and agricultural production, while its toxicity and its persistent power in the environment had been known since the 1960s. The decree published on Wednesday was announced in the fall by the Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie.
