Toxic waste: Clean-up op begins
2006-09-18 08:57
Abidjan - French waste treatment experts in protective suits and masks began an operation on Sunday to clean up toxic chemical slops dumped in Ivory Coast, where poisonous fumes had killed seven people and made thousands ill.
About 25 specialists from France's Seche group deployed equipment at one of more than 10 sites in the economic capital, Abidjan, where a foul-smelling black sludge was deposited after being unloaded from a Panamanian-registered ship last month.
Public outcry over the dumped waste, which had forced more than 30 000 people to seek treatment for vomiting, stomach pains, nausea, breathing difficulties, nosebleeds and migraines, caused the Ivorian government to resign earlier this month.
On Saturday, President Laurent Gbagbo named a new government for the divided West African state, split since a 2002-2003 civil war between a rebel-held north and government-controlled south.
Tons of waste discarded
The Seche group's clean-up teams on Sunday entered a rubbish tip in Abidjan's Akouedo suburb, where tons of the waste had been discarded.
The operation's head Francois Salbaing said: "Pumping will be performed in the next couple of days.
"Technically it is not easy. We have to be very careful in handling this kind of waste. We have special procedures to avoid there being more smell than there is at this point."
Seche spokesperson Henri Petitgand said the clean-up could last up to two weeks.
The waste scandal had triggered an international investigation into the origin of the toxic slops, which were unloaded at Abidjan last month by a Greek-owned ship chartered by leading world commodity trader, Trafigura Beheer BV.
On Friday, an angry mob protesting against the dumping of the waste attacked and beat up a minister and burned down the home of the director of Abidjan port.
7 Ivorians held
Residents living near the contaminated Akouedo dump, some of whom scraped a living by recovering objects from the tip, had complained of feeling ill, but said they couldn't afford to leave.
They expressed relief as the waste would finally be taken away.
Roger Bion said: "It is about time. ... We haven't been able to live a normal life for the last three weeks."
Authorities had so far arrested seven Ivorians and one Nigerian, including the alleged directors of the companies, which handled port formalities and unloaded the ship, the Probo Koala, chartered by Dutch-based Trafigura.
Trafigura described the slops as a "mixture of gasoline, water and caustic washings" and said it advised Ivorian authorities that they needed to be disposed of correctly.
Experts who tested the substance said it appeared to contain hydrogen sulphide, which could be deadly in high concentrations.
Many Ivorians were angry that the government was slow to inform the population about health risks from the waste. Text scrolled across state TV programmes on Friday reassured the population the waste was not radioactive.