IVORY COAST: Toxic waste protest halts Abidjan cocoa deliveries

Record ID: 182002

  • Title: IVORY COAST: Toxic waste protest halts Abidjan cocoa deliveries
  • Date: 10th October 2006
  • Summary: CONTAINERS IN PORT WIDE OF ABIDJAN PORT
  • Embargoed: 25th October 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World
  • Reuters ID: LVA8HWDOFWL4EQ5QMG9E296L2VTD
  • Story Text: Residents near the Ivory Coast's main port of Abidjan blocked roads on Monday (October 9) in protest at plans to store toxic waste there temporarily, preventing cocoa lorries from reaching exporters' warehouses, shippers told Reuters.
    The protest began as the cocoa regulator said the start of the new season would again be delayed, though exporters said any impact from the delay on their activities would be limited.
    Toxic waste is being removed from open air sites around the West African state's economic capital after chemical waste was unloaded from a tanker ship in August and dumped, killing eight and making thousands ill from the noxious fumes.
    The Panamanian-registered ship suspected of the illegal toxic dump, the "Probo Koala", was seized on September 27 in the Estonian port of Paldiski on suspicion that it was flushing similar waste into the Baltic sea.
    A delegation from the Ivory Coast arrived in Estonia on Friday (October 6) as part of the investigation into the deadly discharge of toxic waste.
    Abidjan residents have been on edge over any long-term health effects from the fumes, which have subsided as the clean-up operation continues.
    More than 90,000 people sought medical care for symptoms such as vomiting, nausea and diarrhoea.
    National and international inquiries are under way to determine how the waste was discarded in Abidjan by the tanker, chartered by Dutch-based oil trader Trafigura Beheer BV.
    The toxic waste which caused the health crisis will now be shipped to France for treatment.
    Estonia's Environment Ministry has said preliminary tests of the Baltic waters around the vessel have shown disturbing signs.
    But Trafigura Beheer BV, released a statement saying the fluid on board the ship in Estonia was different than the cargo dumped in Ivory Coast in August.
    Eight people died and thousands in Abidjan suffered vomiting, stomach pains, nausea, breathing difficulties and nosebleeds caused by pungent fumes from the black sludge discarded at open-air sites after being unloaded from a tanker.
    Independent experts say the sludge contained hydrogen sulphide, a chemical which can be deadly in high concentrations.
    Trafigura Beheer BV has described the waste dumped in Africa as "chemical slops", a mixture of gasoline, spent caustic soda and water, and said it was a normal by-product of cleaning tanks used to transport fuel.
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