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 AVR2 and ATM Moerdijk3 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.