Contents Notes |
I. Introduction -- II. Summary and Findings -- III. Audit Findings. Occidental Chemical Company (Oxy), a subsidiary of Hooker Chemical Corporation which in turn is a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy Petroleum), owns and operates an agricultural fertilizers and pesticides plant in Lathrop, California. This plan came into national prominence in 1977 following discovery that a substantial proportion of the pesticide workers were sterile. Presumably, the cause of this sterility was from exposure to a nematocide, Dibromochloropropane (DBCP) which was both formulated (1957 to July 1977) and manufactured (1963 to 1971, 1974 to 1976) at the plant. Subsequent to this discovery, the State of California banned the sale and use of DBCP on August 12, 1977 This expanded into a nationwide ban on the production and use of DBCP except in certain limited uses. |