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Vol 47 No 20

Published 6th October 2006


The toxic trade

How lethal waste came to Abidjan and who brought it there

The poisonous waste was carried on a Greek-owned tanker , the Probo Koala, flying a Panamanian flag, leased by the London branch of a Swiss oil-trading company whose fiscal headquarters are in the Netherlands. Treating the waste in Europe would have cost about US$500,000, so its owners had it 'treated' in Côte d'Ivoire for a fraction of the cost. It ended up dumped around the capital, Abidjan. So far eight people have died, dozens have been hospitalised and 85,000 have sought medical treatment.

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