09/19/2006

Toxic Waste in Ivory Coast

Two Frenchmen Arrested in Poisonous Sludge Scandal

Amid outrage over the dumping of highly toxic industrial waste around Ivory Coast's capital Abidjan, officials on Monday made the first arrests in the case. Two French executives of a Dutch commodities trader are among those in custody.

Ivory Coast authorities have made the first arrests connected with the illegal dumping of tons of deadly toxic waste around the nation's capital. Justice Ministry official Ali Yeo told reporters on Tuesday that two Frenchmen connected with the Holland-based commodities trader responsible for shipping the industrial sludge to Ivory Coast were taken into custody on Monday and charged under the country's laws against toxic waste and poisoning.

The two Trafigura Beheer BV executives, director Claude Dauphin and manager for West Africa Jean-Pierre Valentini, had been prevented from boarding a plane out of the country on Saturday. Trafigura said it was "very shocked" by the arrests and added that the two had been in Ivory Coast on a humanitarian mission and to assist with the investigation.

Some 528 tons of the sludge, which contains the deadly chemical hydrogen sulphide, was dumped in 14 sites around the Ivory Coast capital Abidjan late last month. Seven people have died and thousands more fell ill after inhaling the toxic fumes. Violent protests over the weekend resulted in the beating up of one government minister the burning of the home of Abidjan's port director. Seven Ivorians and one Nigerian, including those responsible for the companies that completed port formalities and unloaded the ship in question, have likewise been arrested under toxic waste laws.

Trafigura maintains that the toxic waste was dumped by a local contractor which it hired in good faith to dispose of the sludge, which the company describes as a "mixture of gasoline, water and caustic washings." The local company, Tommy, is described in a government permit as a specialist in draining, maintaining and refuelling ships. The Associated Press reports on Tuesday that numerous attempts to contact company officials have been unsuccessful and phone calls have not been returned.

Public outrage over the dumping resulted in the resignation of the country's government, with President Laurent Gbagbo appointing a new government on Saturday. A French company began waste removal on Sunday and the process was expected to take two weeks.

cgh/ap/reuters

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