Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 14 • Number 24 • 30th June 2010

Dutch Trial Underway in Toxic Dumping Case

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Almost four years after petrochemical waste was dumped in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire’s biggest city, a multinational metals and oil trading firm is set to face criminal charges in the Netherlands.

Dutch public prosecutor Luke Boogert claims that Trafigura Baheer BV, along with Amsterdam Port Services BV, and Amsterdam city authorities put “self interest above people’s health and the environment” by illegally exporting hazardous cargo.

However, Trafigura denies any link between the waste and the casualties, calling the claims a “myth” concocted by green groups and the media. “It has not been proven that the events in Ivory Coast caused serious harm to the health of the population, or that they could have done,” defence lawyer Mischa Wladimiroff told the court Thursday.

Dutch prosecutors say that in July of 2006, Trafigura’s ship, Probo Koala, docked in Amsterdam and began offloading its hazardous cargo. After a dispute over processing costs, the waste was reportedly pumped back on board the Probo Koala and the Amsterdam Port Services granted the ship permission to leave, which is illegal under Dutch law.

The Ivorian government claims that in 2006 the Probo Koala arrived in Abidjan, the country’s economic centre, and unloaded 500 tons of petrochemical waste into 14 open pits. The government claims that the toxic sludge killed 16 people and caused respiratory and other health problems for thousands (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 8 September 2006, http://ictsd.org/i/news/biores/9057/).

Dutch prosecutors argue that this saved the firm €400,000 in processing fees that it would have otherwise been paid in the Netherlands. Boogert claims Trafigura’s decision to dump the waste in Africa was “cheap, but with consequences.”

In 2007, Trafigura paid €157 million to Cote d’Ivore in return for indemnity against prosecution. Then, in September 2009, the firm handed over another €33 million to 31,000 people who claimed in a British court to have been affected by the petrochemical waste. In 2008, two Nigerian officials who were involved in handling the dump in Abidjan were sentenced to imprisonment (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 31 October 2008, http://ictsd.org/i/news/biores/32495/).

The trial, which is currently underway in the Netherlands, represents the first time that the multinational will face criminal charges. Boogert is seeking the maximum fine under Dutch law for each of three charges, totalling €2 million. Trafigura is fighting the charges, stating that they are “a company which holds high doing business in a socially responsible manner and it is convinced it has followed the rules that are at issue.”

Boogert has also accused Amsterdam Port Services BV and Amsterdam city authorities of violating Dutch criminal and environmental law when they allowed Trafigura to depart with hazardous material. The hearings will be held on 9 July and the ruling is expected for 23 July.

According to a Basel Convention publication, the Abidjan incident falls within the regulations of a multitude of multilateral agreements including the Basel Convention, the Bamako Convention, MARPOL 73/78, the Rotterdam Convention, and the Stockholm Convention. However, the dumping case is often cited as a classic example showing the many loopholes that still exist in the toxic substance trade (see Bridges Monthly, September 2006, http://ictsd.org/i/news/bridges/11704/).

In related news, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced the establishment of a laboratory Abidjan to improve the monitoring of hazardous materials. The new facility, developed jointly between UNEP and the Secretariat of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, is equipped to test for waste in ships entering the port.

ICTSD Reporting; “Trafigura in court over toxic waste,” SWISS-INFO. 02 June 2010; Prosecutor urges top fine for Trafigura toxic waste,” REUTERS, 22 June 2010; “Two men convicted in Abidjan toxic dumping scandal,” Bridges Trade BioRes Vol. 8 Num. 19, 31 October 2008; “Abidjan waste dump reveals many loopholes,” Bridges Monthly, September 2006. “Ivory coast still suffering from toxic spill,” Basel Action Network, 15 December 2007; “UN agency helps set up laboratory in Ivorian port to monitor for toxic waste,” UN NEWS CENTRE, 25 June 2010; “I.Coast toxic waste deaths a ‘myth’, say defence,” AFP, 24 June 2010.