UN probing Ivory Coast waste scandal

UN probing Ivory Coast waste scandal    The United Nations Environmental Program said it is investigating reports that toxic waste dumped last month around Abidjan, the largest city in the Ivory Coast, may have been exported illegally from Europe.
   The toxic waste has been blamed for the deaths of three to five people, including children, and thousands of illnesses.
   The cabinet of prime minister Charles Konan Banny resigned last week because of the toxic waste scandal, adding to political instability in the war-ravaged country.
   UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said about 3,000 persons have sought medical help after inhaling fumes from the hazardous substances, stating they are suffering from intestinal and respiratory problems, as well as vomiting, nausea and nose bleeds. Other press reports say 5,000 to 6,000 have been sickened.
   The exact nature of the substances in the waste have not yet been determined, but the UN quoted “various sources” saying they were dumped at a number of sites around Abidjan after being discharged by a vessel, the “Probo Koala,” on Aug. 19. It is not clear whether transportation of the material was improper or how it got to various sites around the city.
   Following a formal request from the Ivorian Government, the UN Environmental Program said it would conduct an investigation through the Secretariat of the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, which it administers.
   That office is also examining whether the Basel Convention’s trust fund can be used to help pay for the clean-up operation, which could cost more than $13 million. It is also studying where legal responsibility for the crisis may lie.