the toxic truth - Greenpeace

the toxic truth
The Main VII. The Probo Koala discharged approximately
half of its waste load into this boat during its stop in
Amsterdam in July 2006. The waste was later pumped back
on to the Probo Koala, and exported from the Netherlands
in violation of international law. © GreeNPeAce/bAS beeNtjeS
» They knew that the waste which the Probo
Koala had discharged to an APS barge had
generated concern because of the smell.
» They knew that the alarm on a measuring
device used by a police official taking a
sample of the waste from the Probo Koala
on 4 July had gone off, indicating that the
set safety values had been exceeded. 504
» They knew that people had experienced and
complained of health impacts: specifically,
nausea, headaches and dizziness.
» They knew that tests performed by APS
had found the COD, a measure of the level
of contamination, to be significantly higher
than the MARPOL waste usually processed
by APS. The APS assumption, based on
the description of the waste, was a COD of
less than 2,000mg/l; APS’s test revealed
that the Probo Koala’s waste had a COD of
approximately 500,000mg/l.
» They also knew that APS, an appointed
port reception facility with substantial
experience in disposing of ships’ waste,
and capable of processing MARPOL Annex
I–IV slops, had said that it could not handle
the Probo Koala’s waste and would need to
send it to a specialist facility in Rotterdam.
» They were aware that the new quote for
disposal of the waste was significantly
higher than the original, and was based on
the level of contamination 505 and the need
for more specialized treatment.
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Chapter 9