AGAIN, TOXIC WASTE DUMP IN KOKO

The latest dump raises anew the need to sensitise Nigerians to the danger of radioactive waste

Recent reports of alleged dumping of toxic waste, again, in Koko, a port city in Warri North Local Government Council of Delta State, were quite disturbing. Hon. Daniel Reyenieju, who brought the situation in Koko to public attention said, “The toxic waste was found to be laden with poly nuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), oil and grease, total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), and Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene and some heavy metals with values higher than acceptable by the Department of Petroleum Resources, and the World Health Organisation standards.”

The trade in toxic waste is a big business with huge monetary gains for the recipients, particularly those in the developing world. Such countries are attractive for their vast plots of unused land, the low public awareness of the dangers involved, and because many local officials are willing to ignore the dangers if given financial incentive. While we are therefore relieved that the House of Representatives has mandated its committees on Environment, Petroleum Resources, Upstream and Gas to investigate the inexplicable act, we urge the relevant authorities to take this as another wake-up call for Nigerians to take seriously the issue of environment.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time toxic substances have been imported to Koko. In 1987, Italian businessmen Gianfranco Raffaeli and Renato Pent, of the waste broker firms,Ecomar and Jelly Wax, respectively, signed a contract with a member of Koko town, Mr. Sunday Nana, to store 18,000 drums of hazardous waste in his compound for approximately $100 a month. The waste was exported from the port of Pisa, and elsewhere in Italy, to the receiving firm in Nigeria, the Iruekpen Construction Company, owned by

OVER 100 WORKERS FROM THE NPA WERE EMPLOYED TO REMOVE THE WASTES AND EVEN THOUGH THEY WORE PROTECTIVE CLOTHING, THEY STILL CAME DOWN WITH VARIOUS FORMS OF ILLNESSES

Sunday Nana. The wastes were imported as substances “relating to the building trade, and as residual and allied chemicals.”

The federal military government got to know about the toxic waste dump when some Nigerian students in Italy informed a national newspaper after the story broke in Italy. The toxic substances, which were already leaking from the drums, were discovered to be deadly. Over 100 workers from the Nigerian Ports Authority were employed to remove the wastes and even though they wore protective clothing, they still came down with various forms of illnesses, chemical burns, nausea and paralysis.

The federal military government forced the Italian government to repatriate the toxic waste and instituted death penalty for any trader in toxic wastes. It also led to the recalling of the ambassador of Italy to Nigeria and the seizing of an Italian freighter. The incident also resulted in the jailing of at least 54 individuals involved in the transaction, and the banning of hazardous waste exports to developing countries by Italy, as well as the establishment of the now moribund Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) in Nigeria to enforce compliance with environmental laws.

Most waste trade (dumping) is done covertly, so there are few statistics that portray the effect it has on employment or any other types of financial indicators. However, those who track the trade believe the price can range anywhere from “$200 to $1000 per tonne and if the materials are highly toxic, like PCB, then the price can go up to even $3,000 per tonne.” That potential financial gain from toxic waste dumping has proved to be a strong pull even for some governments. For instance, shortly after the Koko incident, the President of Republic of Benin gave a detailed explanation at the Lome negotiations of his country’s plans to import toxic waste despite the heavy disapproval of neighbouring states, Nigeria and Togo, arguing it had to do so for economic survival.

We urge the authorities to get to the root of the recent Koko allegation. They must also begin to alert Nigerians to the danger of radioactive materials that litter the national landscape.