Over the past couple of days many fingers have been pointed, but who is to blame for this chemical mess? The tanker that dumped the sludge was leased by Trafigura, a multi-billion dollar oil and metals trading company. According to the article, Trafigura hired a tanker to store the waste for some time, until it was carried across the Mediterranian and dumped along the Ivory Coast. Trafigura paid $15,000 to dispose of the toxic material, however, the specified volume and toxicity were obviously incorrect. The tanker contained more than twice the amount that was expected, and the materials were so toxic they caused 8 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
To me, based on what the media has released (I'm not saying they are right), it seems that Trafigura underestimated the hazardousness of the waste, leaving the company responsible. There are a total of 18 dump sites found in Ivory Coast so far. So who will hold Trafigura responsible for this mess? There are several environmental activist groups that are responding, and the Ivorian government has detained the tanker that was used to dump the waste.
So, Trafigura gets a slap on the wrist, probably pays a fine, cleans up their mess, and goes on to make several billions of dollars again this year. As was stated at the end of this article in NY Times:
Africa has long been a dumping ground for all sorts of things the developed world has no use for. "This is the underbelly of globalization", said Jim Puckett, an activist at the Basel Action Network, an environmental group that fights toxic waste dumping.It seems as though there needs to be a strict foreign policy regarding disposal of waste. Waste disposal has become so expensive that companies will look to dump their waste in lowlying areas, especially African countries. If we are going to allow corporations like Trafigura to trade oil and metals at this industrial scale then someone needs to regulate their protocol for disposing of this toxic waste.
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