A lawsuit was due to begin in LA county in California this week, brought by Central American banana plantation workers over alleged damage and injury they suffered while using DBCP in the 1970s.
If successful, the case could open the floodgates for similar claims in the banana sector.
The product, from Dow Chemical Co, was used to combat pests infesting banana tree roots.
But now some 5,000 workers from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama have filed five separate lawsuits, claiming that being exposed to DBCP some 30 years ago has left them sterile.
Jury selection on the first suit was due to go ahead as FPJ went to press.
Solicitors representing the first 30 Nicaraguan plaintiffs said it was the first time such a case had been brought in the US by banana workers.
It will raise the issue of accountability of multi-national companies in the country in which they are based, as opposed to where they employ staff.
The case has already received widespread attention and could potentially benefit a large number of banana workers, especially as US juries are renowned for awarding hefty compensation sums.
The workers in this first case were employed by Dole Fresh Fruit and by Standard Fruit at the time.
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