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the toxic truth
chapter 5
A health and environmental disaster ““
Since Saturday 19 August 2006, Côte d’Ivoire is confronted by a humanitarian and environmental tragedy following the dumping of 523m3 of toxic waste liquids from the Probo Koala.
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Safiatou Ba-Ndaw
then Deputy Director of the Office of the Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire182
Waking up to disaster On 20 August 2006, people living in and around Abidjan, particularly those living in the vicinity of the sites where the toxic waste had been dumped, noticed an extremely strong smell. Various individuals described the smell as “rot, gas and onion”,183 “a stench that smells like motor oil or garlic or rotten petroleum residue,”184 and “an unbearable stench”.185 A doctor living in close proximity to a prison in the district of Yopougon, where some of the waste was dumped, stated that he and his family “had not yet gone to bed, when we were struck by a heavily sulfurous chemical smell.”186
If the very strong smell caused concern, the accompanying physical symptoms triggered alarm. People living in different parts of Abidjan consistently described the smell as “suffocating”, and stated that their eyes, nose or skin began to sting.187 One doctor described the stinging sensation as “if you had put your hand in chilli and rubbed your face”.188 People exposed to the smell also consistently reported experiencing headaches, nausea, abdominal pains, diarrhoea and skin eruptions, amongst other symptoms. A doctor who had been out of the city at the time of the dumping but was recalled to help with the medical response told Amnesty International:
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On arriving in the city that day [29 August 2006]189 I smelled an overpowering odour. I live in Riviera Palmeraie, an area located near one of the dumpsites. My immediate concern was for my children, which is why I went home first. When I arrived, I noticed that my children were suffering from ocular irritation, cough and thoracic pain. The odours were quite simply oppressive. They burned my throat and caused abdominal pain. My eyes itched, and I very quickly began to suffer the same symptoms as my family. Dr A190
Victims of the toxic waste dumping around Abidjan wait to consult doctors at the main hospital of Cocody in Abidjan, 7 September 2006. © Greenpeace
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