the toxic truth - Greenpeace

206 Amnesty internAtionAl And greenpeAce netherlAnds
ANNEX I
Victims of the dumping continue to fear that
the waste may have long term impacts on
their health and environment, and are anxious
to understand these impacts definitively.
However, establishing both the past and future
impact of the waste is exceptionally difficult,
not least because the precise chemical
composition of the waste generated by
Trafigura has never been disclosed and may
never be known. This is compounded by the
fact that this waste was dumped in at least
18 diverse locations within the city of Abidjan.
In addition, Trafigura has never disclosed full
details of its own analysis and projections. As
a result of this, it is necessary to proceed with
a step-by-step approach, and build up the best
possible picture based on all of the available
information.
Composition of the waste
While the majority of the composition of
the waste that was dumped in Abidjan can
be accounted for, there remain unanswered
questions about what else may have been in
the waste.
The most in-depth information that is
available about the composition of the waste
comes from the testing undertaken by the
Netherlands Forensic Institute six weeks
before the waste was dumped. 1 In addition,
the waste processing companies AVR 2 and
ATM Moerdijk 3 analyzed (for a few variables
only) samples taken by APS when the Probo
Koala was in Amsterdam July 2006, while
further samples were collected after the
dumping by CIAPOL, the Ivorian Environmental
Agency, and TREDI, the French company
responsible for the clean-up.
On 23 July, 2010 the verdict of the Amsterdam
court quoted the following when considering
the NFI report:
“ It has been determined that the slops
contain flammable, caustic/corrosive
substances (naphtha and sodium hydroxide,
respectively) and hazardous to (very) toxic
substances, besides substances which can
release harmful to extremely toxic substances
under certain conditions (sulphides,
mercaptides). In view of the fact (among others)
that the slops contain flammable materials
(naphtha), substances which can cause severe
skin injuries (including sodium hydroxide),
and substances which, when the pH level is
lowered, decompose into (extremely) toxic
mercaptans and hydrogen sulphide, we believe
that the conclusion that this waste is extremely
4
hazardous is justified. ”
The results of the NFI testing indicate that
the pH level of the waste was very high, 5 that
the COD level was extremely high (measured
as 720,000mg/l by NFI and measured as
475,600mg/l by ATM Moerdijk) and that high
levels of mercaptides and phenolates (which
can break down into mercaptans and phenols
as the waste “acidifies” – That is, as the
pH reduces from 14 down towards neutral)
were present. However, the NFI analyses do
not provide the complete picture, and some
significant questions remain unanswered, in
particular:
» Whether there was sediment in the waste
being dumped, and the exact composition
of that sediment.
» Whether there was a high level of
total organic chlorine (TOCl) in the
waste dumped, as was indicated in
communication from Trafigura to the
Ivorian authorities.
» The exact quantities, types and
compositions of waste dumped at each
location.