France, Feb. 18 -- Nicaraguan farm workers who had been left sick or sterilised after exposure to the toxic pesticide Nemagon on banana plantations in the 1960s, 70s and 80s saw their case rejected by a Paris court on Tuesday, over what it called "disproportionate" damages.

In 2006, a Nicaraguan court ordered multinational chemical giants Shell Oil Company, The Dow Chemical Company and Occidental Chemical Corporation, which sold the pesticide, to pay $805mn in compensation to 1,234 former workers.

Nemagon, which containeddibromochloropropane (DBCP), was used to kill pests in the soil.As early as the late 1960s, it was found to be linked to infertility, cancers and severe neurological disorders.

But the companies withdrew their assets f...