the toxic truth - Greenpeace

72 Amnesty internAtionAl And greenpeAce netherlAnds
Chapter 6
The composition of the
waste: what is not known
A contaminated sediment layer
Sediment waste residues appeared to have
been generated not only in the slop tanks
but also in the cargo tanks during the caustic
washings. Being heavier, the sediment would
probably have sunk to the bottom of the
ship while it was docked at Amsterdam, and
the method used to sample the waste – a
jar lowered to the bottom of the slop tanks
– would not necessarily have detected any
sludgy sediments. 306
Evidence of the existence of an unsampled
sediment layer comes from several sources.
Firstly, a dispute arose in September 2006
between the owner of the Probo Koala, Prime
Marine Management, and Trafigura, who
chartered the ship. The dispute appeared
to be related to the costs of proper cleaning
of solid residue left in the tanks following
the dumping in Abidjan. 307 Secondly, an
investigation in Norway following an explosition
at Vest Tank (see Chapter 7), where the same
process of caustic washing was undertaken
by Trafigura, 308 shows that 50m 3 of sediment
were produced in that case. It is therefore
reasonable to consider that such sediment
was produced on board the Probo Koala.
Finally, one of the truck drivers from Abidjan,
who claims to have taken the last offload from
the Probo Koala, has stated:
“ I managed to fill up the tank only half way,
in other words between 10,000 and 15,000
litres. At that point, the liquid was very heavy –
almost like liquid mud. It was a sort of thick and
309
reddish mud. ”
If part of a sediment layer of waste was
dumped in Abidjan, it is possible that the risk
to human health would be greater than if no
such waste layer were present.
More information on the composition of the
waste is included in Annex I.
The information that is publicly available
about the waste clearly demonstrates that
it was hazardous. However, by far the most
in-depth knowledge of the waste is held by
Trafigura, and the company has made public
statements about the waste and its potential
to affect health, based on data and testing
and modelling it claims to have carried out in
relation to the waste. To date, Trafigura has
been unwilling to disclose this information.
Given the scale of the disaster at Abidjan, and
the ongoing concerns amongst the affected
individuals – concerns shared by medical
professionals – the fullest possible disclosure
of information on the nature of the waste, and
the potential health impacts is essential. This
would allow independent experts to scrutinize
the data and to provide reassurance – or
appropriate treatment – for affected individuals.
Was the coker naphtha
already a Basel waste?
Under the Basel Convention, “wastes” are
defined as “substances or objects which are
disposed of or are intended to be disposed
of or are required to be disposed of by the
provisions of national law.” 310 “Disposal” is
defined as meaning any operation specified
in Annex IV of the Basel Convention; 311 Annex
IV includes operations for both final disposal
(under Annex IV A) and recycling (under Annex
IV B). The title of Annex IV B reads as follows:
“operations, which may lead to resource
recovery, recycling reclamation, direct reuse
or alternative uses”. Most industrial
or manufacturing production processes
involve the production of wastes which are
sometimes referred to as by-products. These
wastes or by-products must be properly
disposed of or further processed in order to
turn them into products or commodities.