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The development of rubber production in Liberia by the Firestone Natural Rubber Company resulted in significant changes to local settlements (22:08-22:34). Residents of Harbel in Margibi County were forced to relocated to nearby Grand Bassa County. The Liberians were not adequately compensated for their losses (22:08-22:34) and continue to face uncertainty regarding land tenure (29:45-30:00). Their new settlement has the Bassa name Queezahn. Quee is Bassa for “white” or “civilized,” while Zahn means “leave this place” (22:07-23:47). Similar displacement took place in part of Division 22, where residents were told to move or risk being forced out by controlled burns. (Mitman 86).

As of 2005, Firestone plantations represented almost one third of the land dedicated to rubber cultivation in Liberia (Desk Report 34).

Firestone made efforts to foster the development of Liberia's rubber sector by distributing pamphlets, conducting soil surveys, and providing credit for harvesting materials (FDI 102). Firestone remained the sole purchaser of rubber in Liberia until the mid 1950s (105) and enjoyed large significant control over the Liberian economy as a result (Growing American Rubber).

The company employed controlled burns during the dry season and manual clearing with axes and saws during the rainy season to clear vast areas of land for rubber cultivation (Rediscovered 43-44). By early 1929, Firestone had cleared over 15,000 acres of land (Geography 432). They replaced native trees, some with medicinal or ritualistic value such as the the sasswood, red ironwood, and cassipourea firestoneana (Empire of Rubber 86) with neat rows of Hevea brasiliensis, native to South America (Latex 66). Tapping began soon after, and by 1940, Firestone was able to produce more than 7,000 tons of latex (Latex 66).

These kids of plantations reduce biological diversity, altering the environment and leading to the spread of insect and disease (Desk Report 34).

The new organization of the environment presented risks for disease, especially given that workers were lived near each other. A case of smallpox broke out at Plantation Number 2 in 1934 and a team of doctors began vaccinating hundreds of workers (Mitman 87). Various yellow fever outbreaks in Monrovia the late 1920s added anxiety among Firestone leadership. At this time, the Firestone plantation became a refuge for white foreigners in the city wishing to escape the sickness (106).

To facilitate clearing, workers applied the herbicide 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (BLACK THREAD DISEASE, CONTROLMEASURES AND YIELD STIMULATION IN HEVEA BRASILIENSIS IN LIBERIA), a substance that has since been phased out due to health and environmental concerns (Mitman 207). Similarly, the fungicide Capfatol, which was used extensively, has been discontinued in the United States since 1987 due to its carcinogenic properties (Mitman 207). Capfatol spilled into and onto Firestone worker’s harvesting materials. In 2005, residents leaving near Firestone Plantations alleged that chemical runoff from rubber production flowed into the Farmington River and prevented local use. Representatives from Firestone have denied these allegations. (Cook 44)

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