ICI PULLS OUT OF COCAINE WAR

ICI has pulled out of the controversial US project to spray vast
areas of Colombia with herbicides in an attempt to eradicate its
cocaine and heroin trade.

The British chemicals company's decision, which came after an
Observer investigation revealed its involvement, will be a major
embarrassment to the US government and will dent the credibility of
the plan.

ICI does not want its name dragged into such a programme,
particularly as there have been reports of children in Colombia who
have inhaled the chemicals falling ill.

The $1 billion programme, instigated by former President Bill
Clinton, will also be hit by revelations that an individual working
for the US company fumigating the coca and opium plants has been
suspected of smuggling heroin back into the US.

According to an official document from the US Drug Enforcement
Administration obtained by The Observer, on 12 May last year
Colombian police intercepted a parcel sent from Dyncorp's Colombia
offices to its base in Florida. The police found two small bottles of
a thick liquid which, when tested, was found to be laced with heroin
worth more than $100,000.

A Dyncorp spokeswoman said the company had investigated the issue and
found no evidence of wrongdoing.

ICI's decision to refuse to allow its products to be used is likely
to worry the US government. Hospitals in sprayed areas have reported
increases in skin rashes, diarrhoea, stomach aches and respiratory
problems. Food crops have also been destroyed and livestock poisoned.

In January, the US State Department claimed the only chemical used in
the aerial eradication is glyphosate. This pesticide, commonly known
as 'Round Up', is made by the biotech corporation Monsanto.

However, the department was forced to admit it was mixing the
glyphosate in an untested brew with another chemical called Cosmo
Flux, a sticky soap-like substance which helps the pesticides stick
to the leaves of plants. One of its key ingredients is made by ICI.

ICI was forced to admit its products were being used when presented
with documents from The Observer obtained by Colombian scientist Dr
Elsa Nivia of the Pesticides Action Network.

Ed Hammond of the US campaigning group Sunshine Project said:
'Massive spraying in Colombia has been a hostile act against the
environment and people that live there. The decision by ICI not to
have anything to do with this programme is sensible and will be a
wake-up call to Washington.