Courtesy of Meyer Agri-Air
Originally published on December 10, 2020 11:56 am
In late July 2019, a group of migrant farmworkers from south Texas was working in a cornfield in DeWitt County, Ill., when suddenly a crop duster flew overhead, spraying them with pesticides. Panicked, the crew, which included teenagers and a pregnant woman, ran off the field with clothes doused in pesticides. Their eyes and throats burned and some had trouble breathing.
It happened again two weeks later, this time twice within 30 minutes.
The lawsuit alleges the workers were plainly visible, dressed in neon orange hats and backpacks. Once sprayed, the crew’s employer Pioneer Hi-Bred International, an Iowa-based seed company “failed to provide adequate decontamination measures,” the lawsuit says.
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