Toxic Injustice: A Transnational History of Exposure and Struggle

357 Pages·2014·113.063 MB·English

by  Bohme, Susanna

Toxic Injustice
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support
of the Humanities Endowment Fund of the University of
California Press Foundation.
Toxic Injustice
a transnational history of
exposure and struggle
Susanna Rankin Bohme
university of california press
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University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2015 by Th e Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bohme, Susanna Rankin, 1973– author.
Toxic injustice : a transnational history of exposure and struggle / Susanna
Rankin Bohme.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-520-27898-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-27899-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-95981-1 (ebook)
1. Dibromochloropropane—Toxicology. 2. Dibromochloropropane—
Health aspects—Law and legislation. 3. Fruit trade—Health aspects—
Law and legislation. 4. Agricultural laborers—Health and hygiene.
5. Environmental justice. I. Title.
ra1270.p4b586 2015
363.738′4—dc23 2014016968
Manufactured in the United States of America
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and
sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures
Natural, a fi ber that contains 30% post-consumer waste and meets the
minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r 1997) (Permanence
of Paper).
contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Roots of Optimism and Anxiety 16
•
2 DBCP on the Farm 47
•
3 Unequal Exposures 73
•
4 An Inconvenient Forum? 106
•
5 Making a Movement 142
•
6 National Law, Transnational Justice? 174
•
Conclusion 215
Notes 233
Selected Bibliography 305
Index 325

illustrations
1. A comparison of treated and untreated grapes, meant to illustrate
the crop-enhancing powers of Dow’s Fumazone brand of DBCP 26
2. Chart illustrating the prescribed steps for bringing a pesticide to
market 31
3. Afectados along the roadside on a long-distance march from
Chinandega to Managua, November 2002 185
4. Afectados protest in front of the U.S. Embassy in Managua,
November 2002 185
5. Afectados affi liated with ASOTRAEXDAN, including Julio Rivas,
gather at the National Stadium in Managua, 2003 189
6. Nicaraguan afectados display discolored and stained back and hands 191
7. Afectados’ encampment in a lot near the National Assembly, 2005 193
8. Demonstrators hold a banner protesting the ratifi cation of the Central
American Free Trade Agreement, 2005 193
9. Afectados threaten to bury themselves alive if their demands are
not met 195
10. Afectados march from Chinandega to Managua for the fi nal time,
May 2007 201
vii

acknowledgments
While the story I tell here is by turns outrageous, enraging, and hopeful, I am
lucky to be able to say that my experience in writing it has been oft en chal-
lenging, sometimes frustrating, but usually deeply gratifying. All that has
been positive in researching, writing, and revising over the years, I attribute
to the many people—from strangers to loved ones—who have helped and
supported me along the way. Toxic Injustice began as my dissertation in the
Department of American Studies at Brown University, and I was fortunate
to have a committee outstanding in both intellect and generosity. Karl
Jacoby, Josie Saldaña, Mari Jo Buhle, and David Egilman each provided inci-
sive feedback and a model of rigorous scholarship. I owe David special thanks,
as he has provided inspiration and support, as well as a political and practical
education in the contested territory that is occupational health.
I am particularly indebted to those who provided the many documents I
relied on to write this history that were not available in libraries or tradi-
tional archives. Litigation fi les—including the documents produced as evi-
dence as well as the motions, fi lings, transcripts (and so on) that constitute
lawsuits’ working parts—are not easy to come by without the assistance of
those involved in the process. I am grateful to a number of individuals who
shared these fi les with me, including attorneys and others who had, in turn,
received documentation from other lawyers. Th ese include Vicent Boix,
Christian Hartley, Scott Hendler, Jacinto Obregón, Carolina Quintero,
Mark Sparks, and Lori Ann Th rupp. Writing about activist organizations
and governmental eff orts also at times posed challenges in locating primary
sources. I am also grateful to Vicent Boix, Victorino Espinales, Jason Glaser,
Giorgio Trucchi, and Ineke Wesseling for providing me with key documents
in this vein. Without their willingness to share this documentation, much of
ix