Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 6 • Number 15 • 8th September 2006
ABIDJAN TOXIC WASTE POISONING RAISES QUESTIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY
ABIDJAN TOXIC WASTE POISONING RAISES QUESTIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY
At least three people have died and an estimated 3000 have been affected by dumped toxic waste in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, where the government has resigned over the incident.
The dumping occurred during the night of 19 August, when more than 500 cubic metres of hazardous wastes from ‘Probo Koala’ — a Panamanian-registered vessel contracted by a Dutch company called Trafigura Beheer BV — were released in several sites, including near water sources, around Abidjan. Large numbers of residents were soon seeking medical help for intestinal and respiratory troubles, vomiting and nose bleeds.
Initial analyses of the waste showed the presence of organochlorines, which belong to the group of persistent organic pollutants that last a long time in the environment, accumulate in the food chain and can reach people through multiple pathways (e.g. through drinking water, seafood, etc.). These compounds may also be acutely toxic.
According the Reuters news agency, Trafigura described the wastes as "’mixture of gasoline, water and caustic washings’ following the unloading of a cargo of gasoline in Nigeria." Reuters also quoted an e-mail from Trafigura affirming that the slops from the ship were "handed over to a certified local waste disposal company, Tommy, following Trafigura’s communication to the authorities of the nature of the slops and a written request that the material should be safely disposed of." In a statement, the company also acknowledged that there had been "carelessness in the handling of the waste, despite the [Trafigura's] disclosure to the authorities about its contents and a written request … that the waste would be processed according to the laws of the land."
Local and international regulations may have been infringed
At the time of writing the legal responsibilities in the case were unclear. Trafigura Beheer BV is registered in the Netherlands, while the Greek-owned vessel chartered by the company sailed under a Panamanian convenience flag. Ivory Coast’s State Prosecutor Raymond Tchimou said three employees of the local waste disposal company had already been detained in connection with the incident.
Cross-border trade in toxic waste is regulated by the Basel Convention (see background below). The Convention’s Secretariat is still investigating whether the dumped material was linked to illegal exports from Europe. EU legislation implementing the Basel Convention forbids hazardous waste shipments from EU members to developing countries. Should legal responsibility of the Probo Koala’s toxic load be found to reside with the Dutch broker, the company would thus be in clear violation of EU law.
Africa vulnerable to abuses
Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, called the Abidjan disaster "a particularly painful illustration of the human suffering caused by the illegal dumping of wastes." Greenpeace anti-toxics campaigner Helen Perivier noted that "anywhere where a country is suffering from political or economic instability there is always room for it to be treated as a dumping ground. Unfortunately Africa, the poorest continent in the world, has many regions affected by instability."
Background
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal is one of the multilateral environmental agreements that contain specific trade obligations, whose relationship with WTO rules is formally part of the Doha Round negotiations.
The Convention requires, inter alia, the exporter of hazardous waste to obtain a certificate of prior informed consent from the competent authorities in the importing country before the shipment can proceed. The so-called Ban Amendment goes further: it prohibits the movement of any hazardous wastes from the EU and OECD countries, as well as Liechtenstein, to all other parties. The amendment was championed by African countries, as well as civil society organisations, due to concerns over weak monitoring, enforcement and/or disposal capabilities. Eleven years after its conclusion, however, the Ban Amendment has not yet entered into force due to an insufficient number of signatories.
ICTSD reporting; "Ivory Coast in Political Limbo after Toxic Scandal," REUTERS, 7 September 2006; "The Global Path of Pollution," BBC, 8 September 2006; "Cote d’Ivoire Seeks Assistance to Mitigate Toxic Waste Crises, UNEP 8 September 2006; "Toxic Waste Firm ‘Acted Lawfully’," NEWS 24, 8 September