DBCP Use and Relationship to InfertilityDow produced DBCP (1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane), a soil fumigant and nematicide, sold under the names Nemagon and Fumazone until the late 1970s. The United States banned DBCP in 1979 after it was linked to human sterility in California. But Dow and three other companies continued to produce the dangerous pesticide DBCP for years after it was banned and export it to developing countries. Animal tests found that the product caused male sterility in rats and the companies knew this at least since the 1960s but hid this information. They also neglected to report the related findings of sperm reduction and testicular atrophy of rabbits and monkeys in the information submitted for registration and labeling. DBCP had no label warning that it was extremely toxic and no instructions on using safety equipment when it was marketed in developing countries. One study found that approximately 20 to 25 percent of the male population working on banana plantations on the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica, where workers mixed DBCP by hand, were sterilized by occupational exposure to DBCP. Dow continued to ship DBCP to Dole Food Co. for use on banana plantations in Latin America. This caused the permanent infertility of thousands of banana plantation workers who then took both companies to court. Human Testing of Dursban Chlorpyrifos is a nerve toxin and suspected endocrine disruptor that has been widely used in American homes. It is believed to be the cause of 7,000 accidents each year. In 1998, Dow tested Dursban on 60 paid recruits at a laboratory in Lincoln, Nebraska, and also gave Dursban to inmates at New York's Clinton Correctional Institute in 1972 to evaluate its effects on humans. This type of study and...... middle of paper ......making the basic ingredients of grocery bags and plastic pipes, it is not because of an awakened conscience but because of low profit margins. This shows that Dow operates with the sole aim of making profits and does not question the cost at which it achieves this. In the corporate world, businesses exist to make a profit, but their ethical nature must be considered. Dow's actions over the past 100 years force us to think about the importance of ethical practices and whether they exist not just in organizational rules but in reality. Senior management will need to lead ethical practices to enforce them in the organization at all levels. The judiciary can also start by providing the victims with the long-awaited justice. Only conscious and focused effort can lead to the survival of ethical business practices in organizations..