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29th Mar 2024

EU toxic trail under scrutiny after African catastrophe

  • Where can a European toxic tanker dock nowadays? (Photo: EUobserver)

The arrival of a European ship containing mysterious yet lethal cargo has caused mass illness and death in the West-African country of the Ivory Coast, and put Europe's toxic waste trail under scrutiny.

"It is shocking that toxic waste from Europe reached the Ivory Coast causing so much human suffering and damage to the environment," environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said on Thursday (29 September), announcing that the EU would participate in a recently launched Estonian investigation into the ship that left the Estonian Paldiski harbour in August.

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"We have European waste shipment regulations which ban such exports, but apparently the law was broken," the commissioner said in a statement before heading off to Tallinn.

Greek-owned Probo Koala, a Panamanian-registered ship chartered by one of the world's leading commodities traders, the Dutch-based Trafigura Beheer BV, that took off from Estonia, is suspected to have dumped lethal cargo containing hydrogen sulphide, a chemical which in concentrated doses can kill humans.

Eight people have died Ivory Coast since the middle of August, including three children, and over 40,000 people have sought treatment for symptoms including vomiting, nausea and breathing difficulties caused by the fumes from the fuel slops.

European ports refuse toxic garbage

Dutch authorities have said ghost ship Probo Koala tried to dump its cargo in Amsterdam a month prior to docking in Abidjan and declared its goods as "a mixture of gasoline, water and caustic washings."

After taking samples, Amsterdam port services said the content was rather more dangerous, and that they could only process it between various companies.

The chartering company has denied wrongdoing and said the waste from the ship Probo Koala, was the waste from cleaning the tanks after a shipment.

Dumping hazardous waste is banned under various international laws that all EU countries are obliged to follow, such as the Basel convention on hazardous waste.

"The EU has made a commitment to prevent the trade of toxic waste from Europe to non-OECD countries. EU authorities need to fully investigate how a ship sailing from a European port was able to dump its waste in a poor African country," said Helen Perivier, a Greenpeace International Toxics Campaigner.

Nigerian UN rapporteur on human rights, Okechkwu Ibeanu, earlier this month demanded that all efforts be made to find out who is responsible for the lethal chemical pollution.

"It is of utmost importance that a fair, impartial and independent investigation is carried out to determine the chain of responsibility which has lead to this catastrophe," he said.

Talking along the same lines, Swedish Green MEP Carl Schlyter, said Brussels had to clarify the EU legislation, making it absolutely clear who assumes the responsibility and blame in a scandal like this.

"In these cases there can be up to 50 different parties- the boat owner, the people who charter it, the crew, the cargo, the cargo owner, the insurance companies, the company in charge of loading and docking... and they can come from different countries... it is hard to know who to go after," the MEP told Euobserver.

"I think it is good that Dimas goes to Estonia, it would be an absolute scandal if the EU could not live up to its responsibilities," the MEP said.

"EU countries dumping toxic waste in third countries is environmental imperialism," he added.

Poor countries are Europe's garbage can

It is not the first time that a European country has been suspected of passing both toxic waste and possible political tension to distant, poorer countries.

Following a ruling by the French supreme court, and outraged international public opinion, French president Jacques Chirac earlier this year was forced to order the return of French warship Clemenceau to France. It had been on its way to a shipyard in India.

The incident was described as a "political headache" for France after it received heavy criticism from NGOs who said Paris was trying to sneak out its "garbage" via the backdoor to countries that cannot afford to refuse it.

Chirac orders asbestos ship back to France

Following a ruling by the French supreme court, president Jacques Chirac has ordered the return to France of an asbestos-lined warship, the Clemenceau, on its way to a ship breaking yard in India.

France demands EU approach to toxic warships

France has demanded that the EU set up a working group to study ways to deal with ageing warships, after the French government last month had to bring home an asbestos-lined retired aircraft carrier on its way to be junked in India.

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