CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1

The Concept of Ecological Imperialism

Ecological imperialism refers to the environmental aspects of the political domination of

territorial areas and subjugated peoples. It is concerned with the consequences to
imperialism on environmental conditions and processes. Ecological imperialism has been
central to the geographical expansion and historical rule of empires, most notably those
of Europe in the sixteenth to twentieth centuries, and to their present-day environmental
legacies (Crosby, 2004).

Crosby (2004) therefore describes the environmentally destructive effects of colonial

occupation as an on-going process of ecological imperialism. The term also has been
applied to the environmental dimension of economic and political domination of poorer
countries by global superpowers and institutions (MacKenzie, 1990). According to
Adeola (1994) ecological imperialism implies wanton natural resource exploitation,
degradation and inequitable distribution of associated environmental hazards by
Multinational Corporations or other powerful foreign and local vested interests.

1.2

Background Information on Imperialism in Africa

The earliest European human geographies of Africa were geographies of exploration and
conquest, and from the era of the Atlantic slave trade through colonialism, they shaped
the way much of the world views Africa. Through the Atlantic slave trade, an estimated
11.6 million Africans were forcibly relocated to the Americas, while roughly an equal
number are estimated to have died along the way in what has come to be called the
1

Middle Passage. In effect, the principal biotic components of Africas vast ecological
system were exported for slavery (Grove, 1996).

Imperial institutions typically governed the ownership or allocation and use of arable
resources such as farmland and irrigation. Also, protection was common under colonial
conservation institutions. Conservation policies and resource control were aimed at soil
protection and irrigation works as well as non-arable resources such as forests, grazing
and rangelands, and game reserves. The motivation for colonial conservation included the
use and appropriation of resources for business and the needs of the imperial state.

Some imperial conservation has been deeply influenced by the concerns and agendas of
modern science. For example, the colonial scientists in the employ of European empires
in India, southern Africa, and on oceanic islands (e.g., Mauritius, St. Helena, Barbados)
were driven by the fear of resource scarcity. This concern in the context of ecological
imperialism, or Green Imperialism, contributed to the birth of modern
environmentalism (Grove, 1996).

1.3

Trans-Boundary Movements of Hazardous Substances

Trans-boundary movement and dumping of hazardous substances refers to the export,

often covertly, of hazardous waste by developed and industrialized countries to
developing nations, usually sub-Sahara African countries (Ibitayo, 2008). Thus,
MacKenzie (1990) suggests that ecological imperialism in modern times centers on
(a) the transfer of toxic waste, nuclear contaminants, and other hazardous materials;
(b) the ecological implications of the toxic materials on human activities and how they
incur environmental changes, often degradation.
2

CHAPTER TWO

MAJOR CATEGORIES OF TOXIC WASTES SHIPPED TO AFRICA

2.1

Persistent Organic Pollutants

The issue of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) is part of the growing trend in toxic
waste trade in Africa. There are huge stockpiles of pesticides in African countries,
estimated at hundreds of thousands of tonnes (Greenpeace, 2000). These pesticide
stockpiles are unwanted and obsolete and some are already banned in many countries of
the world due to their hazardous threat to the environment, human health, animals and
plants.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) compiled an
inventory of obsolete stockpiles for 45 countries in Africa. These substances are
produced and exported by the 11 most powerful multinational chemical companies who
dominate 90% of the world market, namely American Cyanamid, BASF, Bayer, CibaGeigy, DuPont, Monsanto, and AgrEVO, among others (Kone, 2010).

Another study by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (2001) has found that
stocks of deadly, obsolete pesticides are five times larger than previous estimates and
constitute a toxic "ticking time bomb" in Africa and other developing regions. The
alarming new figures set the amount of prohibited and outdated pesticides at 100,000
tonnes in Africa - often stored in deteriorating and leaky containers without adequate
safeguards for people and the environment. According to FAO (2001) estimates, stocks
of more than 48,000 tonnes of such pesticides have been identified so far in Africa,
although the total is likely to rise as more survey data become available.
3

Table 1

Known Pesticide Stocks in Africa

S/N

Country

Stock

Botswana

18,247

Mali

13,761

Ethiopia

3,401

Tanzania

1,136

Cte d'Ivoire

828

All Africa

48,081

(tonnes)

Source: UN Africa Recovery from FAO data, 2001

These stocks of pesticides include some of the most poisonous compounds ever made,
including dieldrin, DDT and chlordane. The World Health Organization (WHO)
estimates that more than 1 million people are affected by exposure to pesticides
worldwide, causing 20,000 deaths annually.

These 'forgotten stocks' are not only a hazard to people's health; they also contaminate
water and soil. Leaking pesticides can poison a very large area, making it unfit for crop
production. The problem is particularly severe in sub-Saharan Africa, where farmers and
government regulators often lack the financial resources and technical capacity to handle
pesticides safely and screen out substandard, banned and contaminated compounds. The
FAO and WHO estimate that as much as 30 per cent of pesticides sold annually in
developing countries - worth $900 million last year - failed to meet international
standards and are often mislabeled or entirely unmarked (Africa Recovery, 2008).

Fig. 1 Map: Distribution of Unwanted Pesticide Stockpiles across Africa

Source: FAO, 1999

The scope of the problem is dramatically illustrated in Ethiopia, where some 3,400 tonnes
of obsolete pesticides, much of it over 20 years old, is stored in 1,000 sites throughout the
country (Greenpeace, 2000). One of the largest dumps is in the centre of Addis Ababa,
the capital, and contains over 30 tonnes of obsolete pesticides in leaking barrels near 40
grain silos. In the western Ethiopian village of Arjo, FAO researchers found over 5
tonnes of DDT and malathion in a collapsing barn in the middle of the community just
yards from homes and pastures. Residents have long complained of nausea, respiratory
ailments and headaches, and report a strong stench from the unprotected site
(Greenpeace, 2000).

Adverse Environmental and Health Effects of POPs

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are synthetic chemicals that have an intrinsic
resistance to natural degradation processes, and are therefore environmentally persistent
5

(Li, et al, 2005). They are substances that produce very adverse effects on both the
ecosystem and human health due to their very high toxicity, expressed in numerous
pathologies ranging from behavioral changes to malignant neoplasms. More important,
they have prolonged persistence in contaminated ecosystems and in individuals because
of their extremely limited biodegradability. Moreover, they have deep penetration in even
the remotest areas such as the Arctic ecosystem (Herkovits, 2011). Among the persistent
organic pollutants, the dioxin-like compounds (PCDDs and PCDFs) are of greater
importance. These substances do not exist in nature and are not intentionally produced by
man but are the result of activities such as the manufacture of other substances (e.g.,
PCBs and chlorinated phenols), the incineration of the waste produced by cities,
hospitals, and industry; toxic waste; the combustion of petroleum derivatives, etc. Due to
their severe toxic effects, these substances constitute a very high risk, particularly for
those who live or work near where they are produced or ultimately concentrate, and such
places may be as far removed from where they are emitted as the Arctic region.

Although POPs are stored primarily in body fat, it is noteworthy that they pass through
the placenta and are excreted in breast milk, increasing exposure to these substances
throughout the breast-feeding period. Children, in addition to requiring more calories per
kg of weight, are also at greater risk of being affected than adults, due to a lower barrier
to absorption through the skin, gastrointestinal tract, and lungs. Thus, it can be estimated
that children absorb approximately 100 times more of these substances than adults and
also have lower levels of detoxifying enzymes (Lindstrom et al, 1995)

POP exposure can cause death and illnesses including disruption of the endocrine,
reproductive, and immune systems; neurobehavioral disorders; and cancers possibly
6

including breast cancer (Ritter et al, 2007). A study published in 2006 indicated a link
between blood serum levels of POPs and diabetes (Lee et al, 2007). People with elevated
levels of persistent organic pollutants (DDT, dioxins, PCBs and Chlordane, among
others) in their body were found to be up to 38 times more likely to be insulin resistant
than individuals with low levels of these pollutants, though the study did not demonstrate
a cause and effect relationship. Another possibility is that insulin resistance causes
increased accumulation of POPs. Among study participants, obesity was associated with
diabetes only in people who tested high for these pollutants.

Recent studies indicate that consumption of PCB-contaminated fish can cause

disturbances in reproductive parameters and cause neurobehavioral and developmental
deficits in newborns and older children. Prenatal exposure to PCBs from the mothers
body burden, rather than exposure through human milk, is believed to account for the
developmental effects of these compounds (AAP, 1999).

In rhesus monkeys, exposure to PCBs is associated with alterations in the menstrual

cycle, decreases in fertility, increases in spontaneous abortion, and a reduced number of
conceptions (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and EPA
1998). Some of these effects have also been reported in human populations. In a study of
626 married couples in Michigan, the relative risk of conception failure (defined as an
inability to conceive after 12 months) increased in men but not in women with increasing
consumption of PCB-contaminated fish (ATSDR and EPA, 1998).

Neurobehavioral and developmental deficits have been reported in newborns exposed to

PCBs in utero, and these deficits continue in school-aged children. PCBs can mimic or
7

disrupt the action of thyroid and/or female sex hormones. PCBs have been identified as
possible environmental endocrine modulators (chemicals that mimic or disrupt the action
of naturally occurring hormones) (ATSDR, 2000a).

The thyroid gland is an obvious target of PCBs in rats, and limited but corroborative
occupational data indicate a potential for thyroidotoxic effects in humans (ATSDR
2000a). In a Dutch population, elevated PCB levels correlated with lower maternal levels
of circulating triiodothyronine and total thyroxine and with higher plasma levels of
thyroid-stimulating hormone in infants during the second week and third month after
birth. Infants exposed to higher levels of PCBs also had lower plasma levels of free
thyroxine and total thyroxine in the second week after birth (ATSDR and EPA, 1998). In
another study, hypotonia at birth was related to prenatal PCB exposure in infants who
also exhibited elevated levels of thyrotropin (AAP, 1999).

Moreover, the results of epidemiologic studies have raised concerns about the potential
carcinogenicity of PCBs. In studies of occupationally exposed workers, increases in the
incidence of malignant melanoma and cancers of the liver, gall bladder, biliary tract, and
brain have been reported. In persons without known occupational exposure to PCBs,
elevations in the serum PCB level have been associated with an increased risk of nonHodgkin lymphoma (ATSDR and EPA 1998).

According to ATSDR (2000a) data from animal studies have clearly shown that PCBs
cause hepatocarcinomas, pituitary tumors, leukemia, lymphomas, and gastrointestinal
tract tumors. On the basis of these data, EPA considers PCBs a probable human
carcinogen. Chloracne is the only explicit dermatological effect of PCB exposure in
8

humans. In a person with PCB-induced chloracne, the acneform lesions arise as a result
of inflammatory responses to irritants in the sebaceous glands. Chloracne usually begins
with the formation of keratin plugs in the pilosebaceous orifices. The resulting
inflammatory folliculitis stimulates keratinization of the sebaceous gland ducts and outer
root sheath of the hair, leading to the formation of keratin cysts (ATSDR, 2000a).

2.2

Electronic Waste

E-waste is one of the fastest growing types of hazardous waste with up to 80 percent of ewaste from Europe failing to be disposed of safely (Green Peace, 2009). Unwanted
electronic products or e-wastes result from evolving technological innovations and
advancement. Many electronic products become obsolete within a very short period of
time. These devices include computers, entertainment device electronics, mobile phones,
and other items such as television sets and refrigerators. The growing demand for the
latest mobile phones, flat screen TVs or mini laptops creates huge amounts of obsolete
electronics called electronic waste or e-waste. In many developed countries, the
amount of old electronics is growing rapidly as replacing electronics is cheaper than
recycling or repairing them.

According to Salem (2010), the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP)

estimates that the world produces 20-50 million tons of e-waste every year. Rather than
being safely recycled, e-waste is routinely exported by developed countries to developing
ones including Nigeria, India, Kenya, Ghana and Sudan, etc. The Basel Action Network
(BAN) suggests that a large amount of the materials are sent to developing nations under
the guise of reuse. In October 2005 BAN issued a report titled The Digital Dump. The
paper concludes that three-quarters of the supposedly reusable electronics shipped to
9

Africa's largest port are broken (Harder, 2005). The implications of this waste industry
are dreadful for both environment and human health. Africas increasing demand for
information technology, combined with its limited possibilities to manufacture electronic
appliances, has made it a famous destination for second hand electronics (Schmidt,
2006).

Plate1: Electronic Waste

Source: Dellmulle, 2010

Plate 2: Distribution of Imported E-Waste Source: Greenpeace, 2009

10

According to Greenpeace (2009) Nigeria has become a giant dumping ground for TVs,
mobile phones and other potentially toxic electronic waste. Basel Action Network avers
that up to 500 shipping containers loaded with second hand electronic equipments arrives
in Nigeria monthly. This amount of containers equals about 100,000 computers or 44,000
TV sets (Kone, 2010). According to local, only around 25% of the Western imports are
actually usable. In essence, the remaining 75% of the shipped electronics amount to a
huge volume of waste. The useless e-waste ends up in unofficial dumpsites, where it is
picked apart by unprotected workers in search of saleable metals. After all the metal has
been removed, the remaining plastic, cables and casings are usually burnt.

Table 2 Average component composition of PC

Material

% Weight

Material

% Weight

Silica

24.88

Bismuth

0.0063

Plastics

22.99

Chromium

0.0063

Iron

20.47

Mercury

0.0022

Aluminum

14.17

Germanium

0.0016

Copper

6.93

Gold

0.0016

Lead

6.30

Indium

0.0016

Zinc

2.20

Ruthenium

0.0016

Nickel

0.85

Arsenic

0.0013

Barium

0.03

Gallium

0.0013

Manganese

0.03

Palladium

0.0013

Silver

0.02

Europium

0.0003

Beryllium

0.02

Niobium

0.0002

Cobalt

0.02

Vanadium

0.0002

Tantalum

0.02

Yttrium

0.0002

Antimony

0.01

Rhodium

Trace

Cadmium

0.01

Terbium

Trace
Source: Zero Waste, 2009

11

According to TEAM (2009), the unregulated disposal of e-waste with toxic elements that
can persist for hundreds of years is particularly alarming given the expected rise in
volumes in the next decade. According to Schmidt (2006), Africa is quickly becoming a
destination for this used equipment. Although many of these machines can be repaired
and resold, up to 75% of the electronics shipped to Africa is junk. This equipment, when
dumped, may leach lead, mercury, cadmium and polychlorinated biphenyls into the
environment (Schmidt, 2006).
Table 3
S/N

Composition / Quantification of Hazardous Waste in Computer

Constituent

Quantity in Pounds / 500 million PC

Plastic (PVC)

6.32 Billion

Lead

1.58 Billion

Cadmium

3 Million

Chromium

1.9 Million

Mercury

632 Thousand
Source: Puckett et al, 2002

Adverse Environmental and Health Effects of E-Waste

Most electronic wastes end up being incinerated in Africa. Burning of electronic waste
has been a major source of dioxins in the environment. These are perhaps the most
hazardous toxicants resulting from improper disposal of e-waste in developing nations.
There are limited scientific evidences, however, on the toxicity of dioxins to man. A
limited number of effects have been associated with exposure to dioxins in humans.
These toxins eventually make their way to animals and humans. According to Sweeney et
al., (1992) a particular compound of dioxins, 2,3,7,8-TCDD has been linked with
12

diabetes and high fasting serum glucose levels with relatively high serum. It has equally
been associated with effects on reproductive hormonal status in males in particular
oddly low testosterone levels (Egeland et al. 1994).

Moreover, electronic gadgets are made up of some of the most lethal toxins such as
arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, copper and mercury. If disposed improperly,
they pose threat to human health and the environment. Human exposure to chemicals
from e-waste could damage the brain and nervous system, cause genetic damage and
birth defects.

Toxic e-waste dumps, such as used electronic products, batteries, computers, telephone
handsets and used tyres, spark off huge radioactive waves which permeate the skin
surfaces and blood vessels leading to the development of cancer of various kinds, high
blood pressure, hypertension and heart attacks, among others. These hazardous wastes are
responsible for a wide range of abnormal health conditions including congenital heart
diseases, cancer, and leukaemia (Alike and Megbolu, 2010)

Polybrominated Flame Retardants: These are potentially soluble in landfill leachate and
can accumulate in tissues of living organisms. There has been little medical research
although dusts have been associated with harmful effects on liver, renal system and
neural development.
Cadmium (Cd): Known to accumulate in the human kidney, is associated with bone
disease and at only 1mg will cause harmful health effects on the respiratory systems of
living organisms. This heavy metal is more prevalent in older units.

13

Chromium VI (Cr6+): Easily absorbed and can produce various toxic effects including
severe allergic reactions, asthmatic bronchitis. This metal can potentially damage DNA in
cells.
Lead (Pb): Lead poisoning for example can cause a whole slew of health problems
including the impairment of cognitive and verbal activity causing paralysis, coma and
death. Lead accumulates in the tissues of living organisms and causes acute and chronic
toxic effects to nervous systems, brain function, digestive systems and renal systems.
Mercury (Hg): Once ingested or inhaled, mercury could cause brain and liver damage,
while copper can irritate the throat and lungs and affect the liver, kidneys and other body
systems. It accumulates and persists in the tissues of living organisms and can cause
damage to the brain, endocrine and kidneys.

Researchers have found that improper disposal of e-waste will affect the quality of
ground water in the next 10-20 years making it difficult for the future generations to
obtain a clean water supply. It will also cause a long-lasting damage to the environment
that could lead to the emergence of new diseases and change in weather patterns.

2.3

Toxic Industrial Waste

Toxic wastes shipped to Africa are diverse and miscellaneous in nature. They range from
industrial effluents, toxic tailings, heavy metal sludge, contaminated food and other
poisonous materials. It is estimated that between 1989 and 1994 member nations of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shipped about 2.6
million metric tons of hazardous waste to poorer, non- OECD countries (Kummer, 1995).
Poor African nations have been the dumping ground for toxic hazardous waste materials,
that is, raw sewage, sludge, incinerated ashes, contaminated oils, chemical substances,
14

acids, poisonous solvents ejected by chemical, pharmaceutical and fertilizer producing

plants in the industrialized world. Uncontrolled dumping of toxic wastes in Africa has
been traced back to the early 1970s, when reports of clandestine deals between African
countries and companies in the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom,
Switzerland, Italy, and the former U.S.S.R. began surfacing (Trade and Environment
Database, 1996).

The world is increasingly being burdened with the waste by-products of development. Of
major concern, especially to industrialized countries, is the problem of what to do with
the huge volume of waste materials generated annually. A rising dearth of repositories for
waste and the high cost of waste treatment informed the search for dumping sites for
waste. In recent years, this has extended beyond regional and national boundaries. The
1980s have seen several attempts to export hazardous wastes to third world countries.
There have been reported cases of toxic waste dumping in Africa. The continent,
therefore, is gradually becoming the prime hunting ground for waste disposal companies
(Anyinam, 1991).

According to Ibitayo (2008), public opposition, more than physical, technological,

environmental and economic factors tend to stifle the siting of new facilities and the
expansion of existing ones. This phenomenon which is highly prevalent especially in
industrialized countries is not unexpected because hazardous waste incinerators and
landfills are good examples of LULUs locally-unwanted-land-uses, which nobody
wants in his or her backyard, an example of the NIMBY syndrome (not-in-my-backyard). The success rate of siting these facilities especially in the United States is so
depressing that it seems impossible to site them in anybodys backyard.
15

As environmental laws become more stringent in industrialized countries, wastegenerating industries tend to frantically search for a path of least resistance for the
disposal of these wastes. This search has led industries and the governments of developed
and industrialized nations to focus on exporting these wastes to developing countries
especially sub-Sahara African countries. The third world countries serve as prime targets.
Adojie (2009) considers this to be a continuing strand of connective tissues in the
treatment of Africans and peoples of African descent. The smuggling of toxic wastes is
the latest and newest in the barrages of egregious behaviours which have often been
directed at Africans and peoples of African descent perennially, by those, who do not see
them as fellow human beings.

The immediate and long term implications of toxic waste dumping on the continent can
only be measured in terms of 900 million lives of Africans. In essence, these will be
millions in human catastrophes, when, and not if, the dams of toxic wastes break which
are now being constructed by environmental racists in their conglomerations.

2.3.1

Specific Cases of Toxic Dumps in Africa

Toxic wastes have been dumped in recent past in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Somalia
among other poor African nations. Poor nations are being used as dumping grounds for
toxic, unwanted garbage generated by Western nations. It has become pervasive, all
permeating and intractable.

Benin Republic
Benin is a West African country located in the gulf of Benin. In the late 1980s, the
country experienced a severe balance of payments deficit and was unable to pay
16

government workers salaries, and defaulted in the payment of its external debt. It was in
that situation of crisis that the country experienced toxic wastes dump. The crisis
situation presented an opportunity for toxic dump between 1984 and 1986. Several tons
of radioactive wastes were dumped by the Soviet Union in Benin according to a senior
Benin government official living in forced exile in Paris (Beheton, 1997).

At least two Benin workers were said to have died mysteriously at Canna in 1984,
resulting in a temporary halt of a national project. More Soviet radioactive waste was
also dumped in an unused stone extraction site at Dan, 15 miles north of Abomey. In
1988, the government of Benin negotiated a bilateral deal with the French government to
import radioactive and industrial waste in return for $1.6 million down payment and 30
years of economic assistance. Later, the French were forced to cancel the deal because of
a massive media opposition in France. Also in 1988, the Beninese government signed yet
another contract with the Anglo-American company, Sesco-Gibraltar, which called for
the country to stockpile as much as 50 million tons of toxic wastes over a ten years period
(Beheton, 1997).

Cote dIvoire
In August 1996, 400 tonnes of toxic waste from the cargo vessel Probo Koala, chartered
to British-based oil trading company Trafigura, were offloaded at the West African port
of Abidjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast. The waste was loaded on to trucks and dumped
around the city. The Greek-owned tanker the Probo Koala dumped hundreds of tons
of lethal chemical muds mixed with caustic soda, oil residues and water in various open
air places in the city. The hydrocarbons in the material contained high concentrations of
mercaptan - which is highly toxic - and smelly - in high concentrations (Sultan, 2006).
17

Rightly described as the biggest toxic dumping scandal of the 21st century, the incident
in Abidjan is sadly part of a growing trend known as toxic waste colonialism, which sees
underdeveloped states used as inexpensive disposal sites for waste refused by developed
nations (Nicola et al, 2008).

One month before the incidence, precisely on July, 2, 2006, the Probo Koala was in
Amsterdam where it was supposed to unload its cargo. Due to the high cost quoted for
treating the waste which it transported, the ship moved southward, in search of less
scrupulous subcontractors. The Cote d'Ivoire toxic waste scandal brought to bare the
reality of the Colonial nations toxic waste being dumped indiscriminately on the poor.

Plate 3: Toxic dump site in Ivory Coast

Plate 4: Vehicles Distributing Toxic Waste in Ivory Coast

Source: Aslund, 2006

18

Plate 5: Scenes of protest resulting from toxic waste dump in Abidjan

Source: Associated Press, 2006

Nigeria
Italy produces between 40 and 50 million tons of industrial wastes and 16 million tons of
household wastes each year, most of which is believed to be exported to developing
countries for disposal. In 1987, Italian businessmen Gianfranco Raffaeli and Renato
Pent, of the waste broker firms Ecomar and Jelly Wax respectively, signed an illegal
agreement with Nigerian businessman, Sunday Nana, to use his property for storage of
18,000 drums of hazardous waste for approximately $100 a month. The wastes were
exported from the port of Pisa, and elsewhere in Italy, to the receiving firm in Nigeria,
the Iruekpen Construction Company, owned by Sunday Nana. The wastes were imported
as substances "relating to the building trade, and as residual and allied chemicals."
Local Nigerian officials discovered the illegal toxic waste stored at the port of Koko.
It was later discovered that Rafaelli was storing, at Koko, 8,000 drums of polychlorinated
biphenyl sulphate (PCBS), methyl melamine, dimethyl ethyl-acetate formaldehyde,
asbestos fiber and perhaps dioxin etc., which were the world's most hazardous wastes.

19

Over 100 workers from the Nigerian Port Authority were employed to remove the wastes
(Poropat, Douglas and Ibrahim, 1996)
.
Several attempts have been made afterwards to dump toxic waste in Nigeria. One of the
recent ones happened in 2010. In April 2010, an attempt was made to dump toxic waste
in the country. The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement
Agency, NESREA alerted the Nigeria Ports Authority, NPA, and the Nigeria Customs
Service, NCS to aid the arrest and detention of a Maersk Line vessel, MV Nashiville,
filled with toxic waste. The vessel, according to reports, arrived in the country on 9th
April, 2010 and discharged some of its contents at the Federal Ocean Terminal at Onne in
Rivers State.

Plate 6: Vessel Containing Toxic Waste in Lagos

Source: This Day Online, 2010

In the vessel, it was noted that among other things, 70 storage (lead) batteries classified
as Basel codeA1180 and broken televisions were havened in it. The vessel was reportedly
operated by American President Lines, APL; a wholly owned subsidiary of a Singapore
based Neptune Orient Lines.

20

Table 4: Inventory of Toxic Waste Dump / Attempts on Selected African Countries

S/N
1

Target Country
Angola

Source
Europe

Waste Type
Industrial

Year
1988

Pretext / Fate
Dumping, $2 Billion
and 15,000 Jobs.

Status
Refused

2
3

USSR
Europe

Dumping
Dumping, $500,000

Unclear
Unknown

U.S.
Italy
Europe

1988
1987
1992

Dumping,
Dumping
Dumping

Rejected
Rejected
Proposed

7
8
9

Eritrea
Gabon
Guinea

Italy
US
US

1988
1988
1988

Kenya

11

Liberia

West
Germany
UK

Dumping
Dumping
Raw Materials for
Bricks
Incineration as

Unclear
Unclear
Actual, Returned

10

Radioactive
Industrial and
Pharmaceutical
Industrial
Highly Toxic
Industrial toxic
and radioactive
Nuclear
Uranium Tailings
Toxic Incinerator
Ash
Industrial waste

1988
1988

4
5
6

Benin
Central Africa
Republic
Congo
Djibouti
E. Guinea

12

Morocco

13

Namibia

14

Niger Republic

North
America and
Europe
West
Germany
Germany

15

Nigeria

16

Different types of
Hazardous Waste
Toxic

1989
1988

Unknown
Unclear

1989

Dumping, $800 Per

Ton
Dumping

Copper Sludge

1988

Reuse

Actual

1987

Recovering

Unclear

Italy

residues
containing
copper, arsenic
and cadmium
Toxic waste

1988

Actual, Returned

Nigeria

Europe

Radioactive Beef

1989

Falsely labeled as
building materials
Food

17

Nigeria

Unclear

Toxic Mosquito
Coils

1989

Useful Products

Rejected

18

Senegal

Europe

Various Waste

1987

Dumping

Proposed, Stopped.

19

Sierra Leone

UK

Hazardous

1988

Construction

Actual

20

Somalia

US

Incinerator Ash

1988

Unclear

21

South Africa

US

Mercury Sludge

1988

Road Construction
Materials
Recycling

22

Tanzania

Many
Countries

Expired
Pesticides

1988

None, Were Once

Products

Active*

23

Zimbabwe

USA

Toxic
Chlorinated
Wastes

1984

Drycleaning Chemicals
and Solvents

Active*

Unclear

Rejected

Active*

Active* Annual shipment was ongoing as at the time of compiling this information.

Source: Greenpeace Inventory, 2000

21

Adverse Effects of Toxic Dump in Africa

According to Stebbings (1992) the hazardous wastes shipped to developing nations pose
substantial threats to human health and the environment. The health and ecological
resources of people in developing countries are threatened by the importation of
hazardous products, wastes and industrial processes from the developed world.

An instance of long-lasting diverse effects of toxic dump can be found in the work of
Adeola (2001). Through international politics and diplomacy, the waste dumped in Koko
were removed and sent back to Italy. However, for the residents of Koko, the damage has
already been done. In addition to adverse health consequences, Koko became stigmatized
as a toxic place to be avoided. The vernacular of reference to this town included any
combination of the terms: toxic, hazardous, sick, poisonous, radioactive,
dreadful, corrosive, and dangerous. As noted by Ihonvbere (1994), the public
started avoiding Koko town. Commercial vehicles would not stop at the intersection
leading to the town, and private car owners would hold their breath and wind up their
windows as they approach the town. Traders stayed away from the community market
and visitors to Koko were avoided like plague. The only bank in the town closed its
offices, and non-indigenes fled the town. .Thus, there were anxiety, feelings of
destitution, isolation, anger, and rejection among the local residents. The adverse social
and psychological impacts of Ecomar and Jelly Waxs dumping on Koko still linger even
years after the incidence.

In Cote dIvoire, for instance, the magnitude and severity of the 2006 toxic dumping was
overwhelming and the consequent impact on human rights was alarming. The waste and
toxic gases disposed on open ground around the densely populated city of Abidjan caused
22

significant health problems to the majority of Ivorian people living at the fringe. On 20
August 2006, thousands of Ivorian individuals visited health-care centres complaining of
nausea, headaches, vomiting, abdominal pains, skin reactions and a range of eye, ear,
nose, and throat, pulmonary and gastric problems. In the following days and weeks,
thousands presented signs of poisoning. According to official estimates, not less than 70
people died due to inhalation of toxic fumes and 69 people were hospitalized. Moreover,
the Ivorian Ministry of Health claims that 131,113 people have sought medical
consultations due to various ailments resulting from the incident. Over 200 pupils
between the ages of 5 and 14 in the communities affected had to stop school because of
sickness. As at 2007, The World Health Organization warned that up to one thousand
people may still die due to chronic toxicity. The sludge was particularly harmful to
children who made up the majority of the official deaths. It is suspected that many deaths
were not counted in the official toll (Nnanna, 2007). In their submissions, Nicola et al
(2008) claim that deadly gas evaporating from the dump sites killed 20 people and
poisoned ten thousands of citizens.

Somalia toxic dump recorded severe health consequences. Field research has brought to
light a whole range of chronic and acute illnesses suffered by Somalis. These include
severe birth defects, such as the absence of limbs, and widespread cancers. One local
doctor said he had treated more cases of cancer in one year than he had in his entire
professional career before the tsunami (Milton, 2009).

Toxic and hazardous waste often get mixed with municipal waste in the sewage system.
If farmers use the sludge from sewage systems for fertilizer, any toxic chemicals mixed
in with sewage sludge can contaminate the soil that fertilizer is used on. Soil cannot
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readily bind with toxic chemicals, leading plants to capture them as they grow from the
soil. Hazardous waste that leaches into the environment also tends to become a public
health danger, even in places with strict dumping regulations. Toxic waste can travel
hundreds, even thousands of miles and infect sites that have nothing to do with the
original dumping. Dust clouds containing dangerous metals and bacteria can blow across
the U.S. from as far away as China and Africa (Science Daily Reports, 2009).

Even low concentrations of toxins can eventually build up inside body tissue to become
negative to a person's health, according to MSN Encarta. Common pesticides such as
DDT and Dioxin have low concentrations in water because they are not readily soluble in
water, but can dilute within animal fats. In humans, the build up of toxins leads to
sickness. Animals can become sick and pass toxins on to predators.

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CHAPTER THREE

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR TOXIC DUMP IN AFRICA

3.1

Economic Dilemma

Africa is vulnerable to the uneven economics of waste trade because it includes most of
the world's severely impoverished countries. Many of these countries are in dire need of
foreign exchange. Africa has long existed as a sphere from which the West could
extrapolate wealth and resources (Bridgen et al, 2008). Most of the African countries, for
instance, have relatively high levels of poverty, low Gross National Product (GNP) and
high foreign debt, hence importing hazardous waste as a source of foreign exchange can
be highly tempting.

The need for cash in developing countries has led to a new import-export market for toxic
garbage. Industrialized countries export their waste to emerging nations and capitalize on
less expensive disposal cost (Kone, 2010). For example, Guinea Bissau, one of the
poorest 20 countries in the world was to be paid $600 million for storing and disposing of
imported hazardous waste. At the time of the offer, the amount was twice the countrys
foreign debt, and about four times its Gross National Product.

3.2

Poor Environmental Regulations and Standards

Moreover, lack of stringency of environmental regulations such as requirement for high

performance and health-based standards for the design, siting, and closure of toxic waste
disposal facilities, and the low level of implementation of existing policies are the norms
in most of these countries. The lower environmental standards that tend to be encountered
in developing countries (which are one of the main drivers of transboundary movements
25

of these wastes) and the prevalence of the informal sector in sorting metal wastes, suggest
that the problems are likely to be considerably more severe and long-lasting than if early
remedial measures were to be taken. Additional problems arise when toxic substances
have been imported because of the lack of information about their potential toxic effects.
(Hunter, Salzman and Zaelke, 2002).

3.3

Corruption

Third, high level of corruption is prevalent in sub-Sahara African countries. Thus,

government officials can easily be bribed to stealthily import toxic waste into their
countries. The unregulated dumping of toxic waste on Kassa Island in Guinea, for
instance, involved the collaboration of a Guinean company and the complicity of some
officials of the countrys Ministry of Trade.

3.4

Lack of Technical Expertise

Fourth, most sub-Saharan African countries lack the technical expertise necessary for the
proper identification of both the elements of the imported hazardous waste and its human
health and environmental impacts. The exporting companies are aware of this lack of
technical expertise on the part of these destination countries; hence they often disguise
the hazardous wastes as useful commodities that are relatively harmless. Within this
context, the wastes are often shipped or labeled as recyclables, liquid fertilizers, road
construction or brick-making materials.

The dumping of hazardous waste in these and other developing countries is usually
shrouded in secrecy on the part of both the exporters and the destination countries. The
26

exporters undercover activities often include falsification of custom papers and invoices.
Even when the destination country agrees to the dumping, the transaction is usually kept
secret and often denied if the transaction becomes public knowledge.

Although they lack adequate installations of toxic waste treatment, numerous African
countries, including Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Nigeria, Togo, Somalia and
others imported whole cargoes of toxic waste (such as industrial muds, cyanides,
solvents, pesticides, pharmaceutical waste) and even nuclear waste ( from Somalia) at
very low cost to the sellers: between US$ 3 and US$ 40 per ton, compared to the US$
75 300 that elimination would cost industrial nations (Basil Action Network, 2006).

3.5

Ethnic and Political Conflicts

During the Somali civil war, for instance, hazardous waste was dumped in this African
nation by industrialized countries. The alleged perpetrators were Italian and Swiss firms
who supposedly entered into a contract with the Somali government to dump waste in the
war ravaged African nation (Poaletta, 1997).

With the abdication of President Siad Barre in 1989, the country of Somalia was thrown
in a state of anarchy. Since the crisis began, there has been the exploitation of the
Somalian crisis by firms who specialize in the disposal of hazardous waste. In the fall of
1992 reports began to appear in the international media concerning unnamed European
firms that were illegally dumping waste in Somalia. By most reports, several thousand
tons of waste, mostly processed industrial waste, had already been dumped there.

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In Benin Republic, Seraphin Noukpo, the commandant of the Ganvie (Benin's only
merchant-marine vessel) admitted that he transported a shipment of nuclear waste from
Le Havre in France. The shipment is reportedly buried in Saklo also in the Abomey
region. London-based Africa Analysis published a story on April 1, 1988 saying
Abomey was deliberately chosen because it is the center of opposition to the Marxist
regime in power.

3.6

Deceitful Foreign Aids

Under the cover of foreign cooperation and development aid, this kind of pollution
continues. Sometimes it is arranged in the form of contracts, signed between the
Governments of underdeveloped and developed states. For instance, the Government of
Benin signed an agreement with France and received an advance cash payment of US$
1.6 million and 30 years of development aid in return for accepting hazardous waste,
including radioactive waste (Kone, 2010). Hundreds of containers filled with secondhand computers, monitors, faxes and TVs from Germany, Korea, Switzerland and the
Netherlands were dumped in Ghana, under false labels, according to Greenpeace, an
international environmental group (Salem, 2010).

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CHAPTER FOUR

RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

The potential for adverse human health and environmental effects of transboundary
dumping of hazardous waste, particularly in sub-Sahara Africa cannot be
overemphasized. As noted earlier, these countries usually have lax environmental
regulations, and may not even have any standards for the proper design of hazardous
waste treatment and disposal facilities. The tendency therefore is that these wastes will
not be disposed of in an environmentally-safe manner. Also, there is a general lack of the
awareness of the effects of hazardous waste and its residue. The problems of adverse
health effects of improperly-managed hazardous waste may be particularly exacerbated in
the region because of the high prevalence of infectious diseases and low nutritional status
which may lessen the citizens physiological defense against toxic substances. Also,
many of these countries lack the adequate health care facilities and personnel that are
necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of hazardous waste-related health problems.

Control Measures
So far, some regional and global initiatives have been established to control or at least
reduce international shipment of hazardous waste, and its effects. These include the
United Nations Basel Convention on Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous
Waste and Their Disposal (Basel Convention), European Union/African, Caribbean, and
Pacific initiative (EU/ACP initiative), and the 1988 Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS) resolution (ECOWAS resolution), according to Ibitayo (2008)
.
The Basel Convention which has been ratified by 158 countries as of February 2004
came into effect in May 1992. This global treaty prohibits exporting hazardous waste to
29

countries that lack the technical, administrative and legal capability to manage the waste
in an environmentally-safe manner. The treaty establishes procedures for notifying the
importing countries about the elements of the hazardous waste and the risks involved.

However, similar to most other global environmental treaties that pose unequal risks and
benefits to developed and developing nations, the implementation of the Basel
Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their
Disposal is burdened with uncertainties. The destination countries may not be fully
informed about the risks, and the partiesthe exporting and the importing countriesare
not required by the treaty to monitor the disposal procedures to ensure minimal adverse
human health and environmental effects, Ibitayo (2008) claims.

Therefore, African governments need to implement the Transboundary Environmental

Impact Assessment (TEIA), an environmental policy that is considered a necessary tool
to prioritize the environment in decision-making processes by improving the quality of
information available to decision makers. This way, careful attention can be paid to
minimizing environmental impacts, improved planning of activities and protecting the
environment. In conclusion, international organisations and the donor community must
seek to offer technical and financial assistance to assist in implementation of
environmental plans in Africa. In consultation with African Governments, they must take
positive steps to build infrastructure capacity for the monitoring and control of
transboundary movements of hazardous and chemical waste in Africa, including port
facilities.

30

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