"The mothers of a string of babies born with a birth defect on the same Kent street are convinced they've found the cause -- a banned weedkiller that's the subject of a legal battle being fought in the US by famed lawyer Erin Brockovich."

"Across a period of 12 years, at least nine children have been born with gastroschisis, a defect where the bowel protrudes through an opening in the abdomen wall, to mothers living on or around Waterdales in Northfleet. The condition normally affects just one-in-seven thousand babies.

Experts have tried and failed to find a link between the cases - until tests on a site nearby found high levels of atrazine, a toxic chemical used widely as a herbicide but banned by the European Union in 2004."

Ian Garland reports for the London Daily Mail April 29, 2012. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Dow Corn, Resistant to a Weed Killer, Runs Into Opposition" (New York Times) [3]

"Erin Brockovich Storms Hill's 'Ivory Tower'" (Politico) [4]