"swroot" wrote in message
...
Oz wrote:

Sirius writes

I know a lady who had a son in 1997. He was born blind and disabled and
has
since died. She said this was caused by the spraying of Benzomate on
brussel
sprouts in a nearby field, while she was pregnant, IIRC.

(What is Benzomate? Is it still used?)

[-]

More likely is Benlate, (benomyl) a fungicide (MBC).

Very widely used, approved, very low toxicity, non-mutagenic.
If the above symptoms were caused by this product it's widespread use on
pretty well all crops would have produced an unmissable epidemic by
about 1980.

You might be interested in

http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/actives/benomyl.htm


Well I was interested in this bit:
"In 1996 a Miami jury awarded US$4 million to a child whose mother was
exposed in pregnancy to Benlate. The child was born without eyes. The mother
in this case was subject to an unusually high dose of Benlate. The case is
on appeal by the manufacturers. An important issue in the case is whether
the timing of exposure - during the formation of the optic nerve in the
foetus - is critical as well as the magnitude of exposure. A Benlate
compensation case involving an English boy from Essex born without eyes is
also due to be heard shortly in the US(21)."