The DuPont Co.'s decade-long fight over its Benlate fungicide always has centered on crop damage. Only once has DuPont been forced to defend itself in court against claims that Benlate harmed humans. That could change in the next year.
Lawsuits involving a dozen children with severe birth defects are pending in U.S. courts.
And in Florida, which was the center of Benlate crop-damage claims, state heath and environmental officials are trying to assess why residents around a former tree nursery are getting sick. They are probing the possibility that Benlate is somehow connected to reports of fatigue, muscle ache, nausea and memory loss. Lawyers for plaintiffs say that if they can prove Benlate harmed people, Wilmington-based DuPont could be liable for damages. Benlate, on the market since 1970, is used to protect plants, flowers and food crops from damaging fungi. One version of the product, Benlate 50 DF, was recalled in 1991 after it was blamed for killing the plants it was supposed to protect.