U.S.-funded aerial spraying

Studies Find DNA Damage from Anti-Coca Herbicide
By Stephen Leahy

TORONTO, Jun 16 (Tierramérica) - U.S.-funded aerial spraying of coca plantations in Colombia near the Ecuador border has severely damaged the DNA of local residents, a new study has found.

Blood samples from 24 Ecuadorians living within three kilometres of the northern border had 600 to 800 percent more damage to their chromosomes than people living 80 km away, found scientists from the Pontificia Catholic University in Quito, Ecuador.