the toxic truth - Greenpeace

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the toxic truth » ambient temperature: the higher the temperature, the greater the rate of evaporation of possible solvents from the mixture. » Rainfall: a significant amount of rainfall would be required to bring down the pH of the waste. But if there were sufficient slightly acidic rainwater, the pH of the mixture would be driven down to the point where first mercaptans would be released (between pH11 -10 ) and then, if it fell even lower (to around pH7-8), hydrogen sulphide. Rainfall would also result in further dispersion of the waste. Given how strongly alkaline it was, there would be a considerable risk to both people and the environment in the immediate vicinity if either had any direct contact with the waste. » Quantity of waste dumped and its composition: the more waste dumped, the greater the likelihood of significant exposure to chemicals. » Method of dumping: if dumping was into water there would be significant dilution and mixing of waste. The basicity of the waste would fall, and individual substances might become more volatile as a result. » Mixing of waste with other materials such as water/soil/solvents/ absorbents: other chemicals present in liquid into which the waste was dumped might also have an effect on what evaporated. Similarly, if there was any absorbent material, it might lock the waste in, slowing subsequent release of chemicals. The pH of the soil surrounding the waste would also have an impact on the basicity of the waste if there was any significant mixing, potentially reducing pH and enabling earlier release of chemicals such as mercaptans. » Dilution of waste after dumping Wind speed and direction: any wind would cause chemicals in the air to disperse more quickly. People downwind of the release point would be affected by chemicals in the air. » Proximity of the local population: clearly the closer individuals are to dumped waste, the more at risk they would be because their inhalation exposure to volatilized chemicals would be greater. The further away people are, the less their exposure because the concentration of volatilized chemicals would be diluted by uncontaminated air. As individuals can only take in so much air over a given interval, the lower the air concentration of a chemical, the less will be inhaled. » susceptibility of individuals to chemicals in question: some individuals would be more susceptible to organic chemicals than others. Many organic chemicals act as irritants for people with asthma and may trigger an asthma attack. » Volatility of the substances: based on the volatility of the chemicals in question, it is likely that most of the chemicals in the hydrocarbon phase would have evaporated in a matter of days. Substances in the aqueous phase would evaporate as the pH fell, with mercaptans becoming airborne when the pH was between 10 and 11. Hydrogen sulphide would be released if and when pH fell to between 7 and 8, even if only for a small portion of the waste. These variables drastically affect estimations of the likely impacts of the dumping on people living in the city. This is important because it concerns the underlying accuracy of any modelling exercise, including Trafigura’s. 215 ANNEX I
216 Amnesty internAtionAl And greenpeAce netherlAnds ANNEX I Trafigura’s position It is clear that, in the absence of definitive data on the composition of the waste and the variables prevailing in each of the many locations the waste was dumped, it is impossible to say that the toxic waste dumping did not contribute in some measure to more serious health impacts such as miscarriages and/or deaths as claimed by victims interviewed by Amnesty International and recorded by the Ivorian authorities. In contrast, Trafigura has been very specific about what it asserts could have been the health impacts of the waste on the people of Abidjan. » Initially, Trafigura denied that the waste could have had any health effects, claiming that there were alternative plausible explanations for the 100,000 who were registered in state hospitals in Abidjan in the aftermath of the dumping, including mass hysteria, people free-riding on the provision of free health care by the state or the fact that a product had been sprayed to kill mosquitoes in and around Abidjan at the same time: “ further, any false impression and/ or fear of toxicity and false reporting would have been increased by … the offer of free, universal health care; … local doctors reportedly notifying patients not to drink 57 milk in case it was radioactive ” “ on 19 August 2006 … the product k-oTHrIne-ec25 … was sprayed from a helicopter to kill mosquitoes in and around Abidjan. … The spraying was reported to have caused an odour with children under 5 years old and old people reporting ‘breathing problems’ and problems with 58 palpitations ” » In its out of court settlement with 30,000 victims in the personal injury claim brought in the UK, Trafigura then accepted that the waste could have had some shortterm health impacts. In an agreed joint statement with the claimants’ lawyers, Trafigura stated that the waste could have caused “flu like symptoms”. To date, Trafigura has refused to specify what “flu-like symptoms” they acknowledge could have been caused by the waste. This is important because flu-like symptoms potentially encompass a wide range of symptoms, from mild to severe. While the statement specifically states that the waste could “at worst” have caused flu-like symptoms, it remains the case that Trafigura has now accepted that short-term health impacts could have been caused by the waste. To this day, Trafigura categorically rejects victims’ claims that deaths, miscarriages and serious injuries were caused by the waste. The company states that this is supported by the work of independent experts who have estimated, based on modelling, what quantity of chemicals would evaporate and over what interval. These estimations were based on assumptions about the fall in pH and one real measurement 22 days after dumping. This indicated that the pH of the waste fell to about 9.5 after 22 days. Trafigura have stated that “none of the chemical constituents of the waste can have released in quantities and in a manner sufficient to cause any toxicological injury.” 60 The expert results were summarized in evidence presented by Trafigura to the High Court in London in a reply to the BBC. However, the original experts, reports commissioned by Trafigura and the expert reports commissioned by the victims that were part of the UK group action case are not available for scrutiny. The assumptions used in these estimations that Trafigura refers to can therefore not be reviewed.
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