LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES CAUSED BY PESTICIDE CONTAMINATION

limits of Brazilian law in mitigating this socio-environmental impact

Abstract

Despite the long history of research into the risks caused by the extensive use of pesticides to the environment and human health, it is still very difficult to identify the causal link between the event and the damage, that is, proving that a certain product, on that occasion, caused that damage. The present work aims to analyze this difficulty in liability suits for pesticide contamination, as this evidence is essential for the lawsuit to be successful. Authors such as Bombardi (2017) and Pignati et al. (2017), among others, contributed to the writing. Jurisprudential research was carried out in the states of Mato Grosso, São Paulo, Pernambuco and Paraná, as well as interviews with judicial experts and a public labor prosecutor. In jurisprudence, it is clear that the judiciary is mainly triggered by damages to human health and crops, and in approximately half of the decisions, the causal link was not established, with the main obstacles being the failure to prove the relationship between pesticides and diseases, and pesticide drift to locations other than where it was applied. During the interviews, the complexity of these products was reported, as they are only identified under very specific temporal, spatial and quantity conditions. The combination of these analyzes demonstrates the need for investment in inspection and monitoring policies, as well as laboratory structures, so that the judiciary can be more effective in its actions, in addition to reviewing the pesticides allowed in Brazil and their maximum tolerated quantities.