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The French islands of the Caribbean, Guadeloupe and Martinique are, at first glance, ideal tourist destinations with unforgettable landscapes. However, few tourists know that the two islands have major pollution problems. Since the 1970s, for 20 years, banana crops on these two islands have been constantly sprayed with a pesticide called chlordecon, which is associated with cancer.
Over the years, what was supposed to protect bananas from insects has polluted both the land and the water. Chlordecone remains in the soil for decades, possibly centuries.
Now, more than 20 years after the ban on the chemical, much of the land in Guadeloupe and Martinique can no longer be used for agriculture, and almost all adults in the area have these chemicals in their blood, he writes. the BBC.
According to one of the leading experts in the field of chemistry, Professor Luc Multigner, Chlordecone affects the endocrine glands, leading to hormonal problems such as prostate cancer, premature birth and brain development problems in children.
92% of the inhabitants of Martinique were poisoned
A study conducted by Professor Luc Multigner and his colleagues in Guadeloupe in 2010 found that chlordecone is responsible for approximately 5-10% of prostate cancer cases reported on the island, that is, between 50 and 100 new cases per year. , out of a population of 800,000.
Among those who got sick from this pesticide is Ambroise Bertin. He worked for years in banana plantations in Martinique and all this time he came into contact with the chemical without knowing the danger to which he was exposed.
“It just came to our knowledge then. People worked because they needed money. I had no information about it, if it was good or bad. That’s why so many people are poisoned. They just told us not to drink or eat anything while using the pesticide,” he said Ambroise, now 70 years old.
As a result of the chlordecone poisoning, Ambroise developed prostate cancer, a disease that is more common in Martinique and Guadeloupe than anywhere else in the world.
In 2015, he underwent surgery to remove the cancer, but he still has problems with his thyroid gland and other illnesses, all caused by the chemical.
Another victim of the pesticide used in the Caribbean is the historian Valy Edmond-Mariette, who developed blood cancer at the age of 25. “The concerns about the effects of chlordecone can be exhausting.
But in the end, you can’t control everything. You have to admit that you were poisoned to some degree, so you have to deal with that. “She said.
(Editor: Ioana Coman)
