Four lawsuits have been filed in California state courts on behalf of families who claim repeated exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos left their children with lasting neurological damage.
The suits filed in Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Madera counties name as defendants Dow Chemical and Corteva Agriscience – which was spun off after the merger of Dow and DuPont – as well as growers who applied the insecticide.
“These four cases set the stage for class action seeking residential cleanup and medical monitoring that the legal team estimates will be required for at least 100,000 homes and will cost, at the minimum, $500 million,” noted a press release announcing the lawsuits.
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Corteva stopped making the insecticide at the end of 2020, and EPA is facing a court-ordered deadline in August to decide whether to revoke or modify its tolerances.
Corteva spokesman Gregg Schmidt said the company believes the lawsuits are “without merit” and that it “will vigorously defend against these recent unfounded allegations.”
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