French Parliament Passes Bill Acknowledging Partial State Responsibility for Chlordecone Contamination in Caribbean Territories

French lawmakers in the lower house voted unanimously on June 3 in favor of a bill that acknowledges the state's share of responsibility for health-related, moral, environmental and economic harm caused by chlordecone in Guadeloupe and Martinique. The bill states that the state acknowledges its share of responsibility for the harm suffered by the territories and their populations as a result of the pesticide's prolonged use.

The Sénat has already backed the bill.

The new law sets France the goal of decontaminating soil and water polluted by the pesticide and aims at compensating all victims of this contamination in Guadeloupe and Martinique. Chlordecone was widely used to eliminate weevils in banana plantations in Guadeloupe and Martinique from 1972 until 1993.

France banned the use of chlordecone on the mainland in 1990 but allowed continued use on the Caribbean islands until 1993.

Almost 90% of people in Martinique and Guadeloupe have been contaminated with chlordecone, according to research cited by France's ANSES health agency. Over 90% of adults in Martinique and Guadeloupe are contaminated by chlordecone. Chlordecone has been linked to prostate cancer.

The rate of prostate cancer in Martinique and Guadeloupe is among the highest in the world. Studies have shown adverse effects of chlordecone on the nervous system, reproduction, the hormonal system and the functioning of certain organs including the heart, according to ANSES.

A 1979 report from the World Health Organization found that chlordecone was carcinogenic in mice and rats. The same report stated it was reasonable to regard chlordecone as a carcinogenic risk to humans. In 2009, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants banned chlordecone use worldwide.