Dow AgroSciences, Lilly accused of toxic dumping- 26-05-2009 13:08Fonte: IndyStar.com Dozens of Brazilian residents are suing five chemical giants, including drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. and pesticide maker Dow AgroSciences of Indianapolis, claiming they dumped, buried or burned tons of toxic waste that had been banned in the U.S. since the 1970s.The toxins contaminated the air and water and caused medical problems for workers and nearby residents, the lawsuit claims. Exposure to the chemicals resulted in cancer, genetic abnormalities, physical deformities and premature deaths, according to the lawsuit, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis."The pollution and contamination have continued mostly unimpeded until the present day," the lawsuit said.The toxic waste includes substances banned in the U.S. for risks to the environment and humans, notably a group of chemicals known as drins, such as aldrin, dieldrin and endrin, the suit said. It was not clear where the toxins originated.Such dumping would violate international law, said Alberto E. Lugo-Janer, a Florida lawyer for the Brazilian residents. The suit said the dumping occurred in and around Cosmopolis and Paulinia.A Lilly spokesman, Ed Sagebiel, said the company was aware of the lawsuit, took the claims seriously and was cooperating with Brazilian authorities.But he added that Lilly had seen no evidence to back up the claims that workers or residents had been injured. "Many of those claiming injury have been tested, and their results are consistent with those of healthy individuals," Sagebiel said.Lilly made antibiotics at a plant in that part of Brazil but sold it in 2003, he said. The company took measures to protect employees and the community, he said.Some of the waste, the plaintiffs claim, was from the manufacture of agricultural chemicals by Dow AgroSciences, formerly DowElanco. Dow AgroSciences, based on the Northwestside of Indianapolis, is owned by chemical giant Dow Chemical of Michigan. Until 1997, it was a joint venture of Dow and Lilly and operated as DowElanco. The operation changed its name to Dow AgroSciences after Lilly sold its 40 percent interest to Dow Chemical.Garry Hamlin, a spokesman for Dow AgroSciences, said the company hasn\'t yet had an opportunity to investigate the allegations in the suit.But he said that tebuthiuron, one of the chemicals named in the suit, is a "highly beneficial herbicide for use in controlling unwanted weeds, grasses and brush.""The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\'s most recent evaluation of tebuthiuron concluded that the product was not a human carcinogen, not a mutagen, did not cause birth defects or adverse developmental effects and was practically nontoxic by dermal exposure," he said.The suit also names Shell Oil Co., American Cyanamid Co. and BASF Corp. The plaintiffs claim Lilly used its plant incinerator to burn "untoward substances" for Shell and other companies.Lilly stock closed Wednesday at $32.74, down 1.8 percent, or 60 cents. Shell e Basf devem pagar plano de saude vitalicio para expostos a contaminacaoPublicidadeA Justica do trabalho paulista determinou que as empresas Shell e Basf devem contratar um plano de saude vitalicio para ex-funcionarios expostos a riscos de contaminacao na unidade de fabricacao de agrotoxicos, em Paulinia. A