Shell and Dow were aware for more than 20 years that DBCP caused sterility in animals and the shrinking of testicles… A Shell official had instructed that speculation about possible harmful conditions to man should be omitted from registration of the product with the United States Department of Agriculture.
By John Donovan
On 11 February, we published an article about current litigation underway in the USA courts against Shell Oil Company and Dow Chemicals relating to the extremely hazardous chemical pesticide, dibromochloropropane (DBCP).
We have carried out some research into the background history of Shell’s association with DBCP, which stretches back almost 60 years.
In August 1977, an Associated Press syndicated article described DBCP as “A pest-controlling chemical suspected of causing sterility in men and cancer in animals…” It said that The Washington Post had revealed that Shell and Dow were aware for more than 20 years that DBCP caused sterility in animals and the shrinking of testicles. Laboratory tests were carried out in 1952 and the findings reported to Shell in 1954.