Trafigura knew of waste dangers 托克国际知晓其工业废料有害
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2009-09-17 00:42 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

BBC Newsnight has uncovered evidence revealing that oil-trading company Trafigura knew that waste dumped in Ivory Coast in 2006 was hazardous1.

BBC晚间新闻发现证据显示石油交易公司Trafigure知晓2006年倾倒在象牙海岸中的废物是有害的。

Trafigura had persistently2 denied that the waste was harmful but internal e-mails show staff knew it was hazardous(有害的).

On Wednesday, Newsnight learned that Trafigura has offered to pay damages to settle a class action brought on behalf of 31,000 who said they were injured.

Up until now Trafigura has refused to settle, denying it was to blame.

The news of the settlement came as a UN report on claims that people had fallen sick or died as a result of the dump was published.

The report says there is "strong prima facie evidence(初步的证据) that the reported deaths and adverse3(不利的) health consequences are related to the dumping of the waste from the cargo4 ship".

The chemical waste came from a ship called Probo Koala and in August 2006 truckload after truckload of it was illegally fly-tipped at 15 locations around Abidjan, the biggest city in Ivory Coast.

In the weeks that followed the dumping, tens of thousands of people reported a range of similar symptoms, including breathing problems, sickness and diarrhoea(腹泻).

Refinery5 by-product6

The story began four years ago at an oil refinery(炼油厂) in Mexico, owned by the state company Pemex, or PMI.

In its chemical processes the refinery was producing a by-product - coker(炼焦器) naptha, a dirty form of gasoline which could not be treated on site.

The e-mails which Newsnight has obtained reveal that Trafigura executives realised they could make a fortune by buying the dirty Mexican oil for next to nothing(几乎没有).

One e-mail says: "This is as cheap as anyone can imagine and should make serious dollars."

However, to sell it on at a profit, Trafigura first had to find a cheap way to clean the coker naptha and lower its sulphur(硫) levels.

Difficulties

Trafigura chartered the Probo Koala and while the ship was off the coast of Gibraltar poured tons of caustic7 soda8(苛性钠) and a catalyst9(催化剂) into the dirty oil to clean it - a rough and ready process known as "caustic washing".

The method is cheap, but it generates such dangerous waste that it is effectively banned in most places around the world.

The e-mails obtained by Newsnight show that in the months before the waste was dumped the company knew about the difficulties they would face in disposing of the waste.

"This operation is no longer allowed in the European Union, the United States and Singapore" it is "banned in most countries due to the 'hazardous nature of the waste'", one e-mail warns.

Another e-mail points out that "environmental agencies do not allow disposal of the toxic10 caustic".

The process left a toxic sulphurous sludge(泥,泥泞) in the tanks of the Probo Koala.

Costly11 process

Claiming that the waste was simply tank washings - the standard oil-water mixture produced by routine tank cleaning - Trafigura attempted to offload the waste in the Netherlands.

However, when the waste was offloaded the smell was so strong, the emergency services were called.

Samples were taken and Trafigura was told the waste was toxic and would cost hundreds of thousands of euros to treat safely.

However, Trafigura opted12 for(选择) the much cheaper option of reloading the waste and taking it elsewhere. It ultimately ended up in Ivory Coast.

Evidence seen by Newsnight shows that knowledge of the waste and problems getting rid of it went to the very top of Trafigura and the company's President Claude Dauphin.

The Trafigura e-mails say that Mr Dauphin was urging his team to "be creative" in how they dealt with the hazardous waste.

The contractor13 that they found in the end was Solomon Ugburogbu, the owner of a company called Tommy, which had no facilities to handle hazardous waste.

Ugburogbu, is now serving a 20 year sentence for poisoning local people.



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1 hazardous Iddxz     
adj.(有)危险的,冒险的;碰运气的
参考例句:
  • These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
  • Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。
2 persistently MlzztP     
ad.坚持地;固执地
参考例句:
  • He persistently asserted his right to a share in the heritage. 他始终声称他有分享那笔遗产的权利。
  • She persistently asserted her opinions. 她果断地说出了自己的意见。
3 adverse 5xBzs     
adj.不利的;有害的;敌对的,不友好的
参考例句:
  • He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
  • The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。
4 cargo 6TcyG     
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物
参考例句:
  • The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
  • A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。
5 refinery QiayX     
n.精炼厂,提炼厂
参考例句:
  • They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
  • The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。
6 by-product nSayP     
n.副产品,附带产生的结果
参考例句:
  • Freedom is the by-product of economic surplus.自由是经济盈余的副产品。
  • The raw material for the tyre is a by-product of petrol refining.制造轮胎的原材料是提炼汽油时产生的一种副产品。
7 caustic 9rGzb     
adj.刻薄的,腐蚀性的
参考例句:
  • He opened his mouth to make a caustic retort.他张嘴开始进行刻薄的反击。
  • He enjoys making caustic remarks about other people.他喜欢挖苦别人。
8 soda cr3ye     
n.苏打水;汽水
参考例句:
  • She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
  • I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。
9 catalyst vOVzu     
n.催化剂,造成变化的人或事
参考例句:
  • A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
  • The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。
10 toxic inSwc     
adj.有毒的,因中毒引起的
参考例句:
  • The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
  • There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。
11 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
12 opted 9ec34da056d6601471a0808ebc89b126     
v.选择,挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
  • After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。
13 contractor GnZyO     
n.订约人,承包人,收缩肌
参考例句:
  • The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
  • The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样,有几分要看地势而定。
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