Dozens of sealed containers filled with toxic waste were headed for France yesterday, two months after they were dumped across Ivory Coast's main city in a scandal authorities claim killed 10 people.
Packed into rows of cylindrical containers, the waste left Abidjan's port just before midnight on Friday aboard the MN Toucan, a vessel belonging to the French shipping company, Maritime Nantaise. The ship's captain, Franck Ouvray, said it would take about 10 days to transport the first of four loads of the waste to Le Havre, France.
Tredi International, the French company contracted by the Ivorian government to clean up the waste from 17 sites around Abijdan, has removed about 5,000 tonness of toxins and dirt since Sept. 17.
Tredi spokesman Henri Petitgand said clean-up crews had not finished and were still working at two sites. He said once the containers get to France, it will take about two weeks to neutralize their toxic contents.
The waste was offloaded in Abidjan on Aug. 19 from the Probo Koala, a vessel chartered by the Dutch commodities trading company, Trafigura Beheer BV.
Trafigura officials say the ship was carrying a cargo of gasoline and stopped in Abidjan to dispose of the content of the ship's waste tanks, known as "slops."
Trafigura says the waste disposed of in Abidjan was a mix of gasoline residues, water and caustic sodas used to clean slops.
UN experts say the waste that was dumped in Abidjan contained hydrogen sulfide, which in concentrated doses can kill humans. Trafigura officials say it is a mystery how the hydrogen sulfide got there, as caustic sodas typically used to clean slops cannot produce the toxic substance, according to Trafigura.
Ivory Coast's Health Ministry says 10 people have died in areas where the waste was dumped. The ministry says more than 60 people have also been hospitalized and more than 100,000 have sought medical treatment.
As the waste moved out on Friday, the strong scent of rotting garlic was still detectable. Residents have come to associate the smell with the lethal fumes that led to diarrhea, headaches, breathing problems and small spots on their skin immediately after the waste was jettisoned.
Safiatou Ba N'daw, who heads a special Ivorian government committee set up to deal with the crisis, said the fact the toxic waste was being shipped out of Ivory Coast didn't mean the crisis was over.
"I would not say this is the end," she said. "We must not forget that we are still cleaning the ground, and we still have to clean the lagoon and the sewage system."
Authorities here have jailed seven people, including four Ivorian officials. All have been charged with breaking local toxic waste disposal laws.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia