the toxic truth - Greenpeace

the toxic truth
Dr Bleu, a general practitioner at the Hôpital
Militaire d’Abidjan, treated 6,421 patients
over a period of 77 days. He stated that:
“ the most common symptoms were
respiratory and eNt problems, such as dyspnea,
thoracic pain, rhinorrhea and otalgia. Around 70
per cent of those we saw had these symptoms.
Skin problems, such as cutaneous eruptions
were slightly less common, perhaps only 30-40
per cent of patients. the patients who presented
early on, within the first week, complained
principally of symptoms affecting the eNt,
ocular and pulmonary symptoms. … Many of the
eNt symptoms were quite serious, and I believe
that it was the inflammation of the eNt system
that in many cases caused people to suffer such
severe headaches and, in some cases, dizziness
and fever. After around 10 days or two weeks,
I noticed the pattern of symptoms altered
slightly. while most patients still complained
of the symptoms I have already mentioned, we
began to see increasing numbers of people who
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also had digestive and skin problems. ”
Doctors who treated people at public and
private medical facilities stated that those
who had been exposed to the toxic waste
manifested a unique mix of symptoms.
Dr K stated, “If a patient suffered from
stinging eyes, we knew it wasn’t related to
a bout of malaria. Generally, respiratory,
ophthalmological and ENT symptoms often
indicated a contamination by toxic waste” 230
Dr Bleu said, “Those who were exposed did
not tend to present with just a headache or
just stomach problems, without also having
some accompanying symptoms such as the
reddened eyes or a runny nose. Where there
were doubts as to the cause of the patient’s
illness, we ran tests to eliminate other possible
causes, such as malaria or typhoid fever”. 231
The doctors said that the severity and duration
of the symptoms varied according to patients’
ages, individual sensitivities, whether they
had pre-existing health problems, levels of
exposure and whether they continued to be
exposed to the waste. They said that some
adults were unable to go to work, and children
missed school because of the pain and
discomfort they experienced.
Dr A, a lung specialist, stated in an affidavit that:
“ the symptoms of the toxic waste were
particularly severe amongst the weak, such as
asthmatics, those suffering from respiratory
allergies, children, the elderly, those undergoing
treatment for or recovered from tuberculosis
(with pulmonary after effects), and those who
were HIV positive. these symptoms tended to
be more serious among people living close to
the dumpsites, in terms of pulmonary effects;
I noticed that pulmonary problems appeared
rapidly as a secondary effect following airway
exposure to the toxic waste . ” 232
Doctors believe that, after people were given
medication, most of the symptoms lasted only
a few days for people who did not have preexisting
conditions and who did not continue
to live near the waste.
Dr Bleu noted that the cutaneous symptoms,
especially rashes, lasted for longer (a week
to 10 days) even with treatment. He also
noted that children were particularly affected
by cutaneous symptoms. 233 This was also
confirmed by a Red Cross report, which noted:
“ the gas emanations from the waste
not only polluted the environment, but also
caused various pathological problems in
these communities. Among the effects were
breathing, digestive and dermatological
problems, which mostly affected youths and
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children aged under 15 years. ”
Doctors also told Amnesty International that
they continued to treat people with persistent
or chronic problems up to November and
December 2006 and January 2007.
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Chapter 5