Glossary
Abidjan – port city and commercial capital of
the Ivory Coast. The former official capital of the Ivory Coast,
Abidjan is the country’s largest city and the fourth largest
French-speaking city in the world (after Paris, Kinshasa and
Montreal). Highly industrialised and regarded as the cultural
centre of west Africa, Abidjan is located in Ébrié Lagoon on
several converging peninsulas and islands, connected by bridges.
The city is composed of two parts (northern and southern Abidjan)
and divided into ten communes. In 2006, the city had an estimated
population of 3,796,677. As well as its oil refinery, major
industries include food processing and the manufacture of textiles,
chemicals and soap.
Akouédo – village on the outskirts of central
Abidjan. Akouédo houses an official dump-site that was
utilised by Compagnie Tommy to offload a significant volume of
slops from the Probo Koala.
Amsterdam Port Services BV (APS) – company
licensed by the Dutch authorities to handle ships waste, and
contracted by Trafigura to take slops from the Probo Koala.
AVR-Industrial Waste BV (AVR) – Dutch company
instructed by APS to analyse samples of the Probo Koala slops in
Amsterdam.
Basel Convention – the Basel Convention is the
most comprehensive global environmental treaty on hazardous wastes.
It has 172 member countries and its aims are the reduction of the
trans-boundary movements of hazardous wastes, the prevention and
minimization of their generation, the environmentally sound
management of such wastes and the active promotion of the transfer
and use of cleaner technologies. The Convention was opened for
signature on 22nd March 1989, and entered into force on 5th May
1992. A waste falls under the scope of the Convention if it is
listed within the category of wastes listed in Annex I of the
Convention and exhibits one of the hazardous characteristics
contained in Annex III (i.e. by being explosive, flammable, toxic,
or corrosive). It can also fall under the scope of the Convention
is if it is defined as or considered to be a hazardous waste under
the laws of either the exporting country, the importing country, or
and of the countries of transit.
Burgeap Côte d’Ivoire – environmental
specialist and subsidiary of the European Engineering Group BURGEAP
IGIP Holding SE, Burgeap Côte d’Ivoire carries out research and
engineering projects including audits, consulting, measurement,
training, project management, technical support and turnkey
projects in various fields of the environment. Often working on
behalf of the Ivorian Ministry of Environment, it was appointed to
undertake an audit of the dump sites in Abidjan after an agreement
between Trafigura and the Ivorian Government.
Catalyst – a substance that speeds up a
chemical reaction, in this case the Merox process.
Caustic soda – also called sodium hydroxide,
the chemical used in the caustic washing process. Caustic soda is
one of the most widely used chemicals both in industry and in the
home. Caustic soda is mixed with other chemicals and,
together with water, can dissolve grease, oil and fat. It is widely
used in industry for a diverse number of applications including
paper manufacturing, oil drilling, food preparation and aluminium
production.
Caustic washing/Merox process – a well-known,
legal and effective way of reducing impurities from gasoline
blendstocks. The caustic wash is achieved by adding caustic
soda solution (sodium hydroxide) to the ship’s tanks and
circulating the contents to ‘wash’ the coker naphtha and chemically
extract the mercaptans from the hydrocarbons.
The Merox Process - Merox is an acronym for
mercaptan oxidation. After the caustic washing, a catalyst is
added to facilitate the oxidation of mercaptides to chemical
compounds called disulphides. These organic compounds, which
are far less odorous than the mercaptans, dissolve back into the
naphtha. The caustic solution containing the catalyst, traces
of the mercaptides and other water soluble salts is then drained
from the bottom of the tank.
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) – the standard
method for indirect measurement of the amount of pollution in a
sample of water. The COD test procedure is based on the chemical
decomposition of organic and inorganic contaminants, dissolved or
suspended in water. The result of a COD test indicates the amount
of water-dissolved oxygen consumed by the contaminants during two
hours of decomposition from a solution of boiling potassium
dichromate. The higher the COD, the higher the amount of pollution
in the test sample.
Coker naphtha – produced from the processing of
heavier residues of crude oil. This processing, which is common
within the oil industry, is known as thermal cracking (‘coking’) –
hence the name ‘coker’ naphtha. These products are traded
worldwide. Coker naphtha was part of the Probo Koala’s
cargo.
Communauté Financière Africaine (CFA) franc –
official currency of the Ivory Coast.
Compagnie Tommy – the firm that, having been
appointed by Trafigura to treat the Probo Koala slops safely and
legally, reprehensibly dumped the slops material in and around
Abidjan.
District Environmental Police (DEP) – Dutch
police department that took samples of the slops from the Probo
Koala. It was these samples that were used by the Netherlands
Forensic Institute (NFI) in their authoritative Report. The results
regarding the composition of the slops showed the slops could not
have caused the injuries alleged to the people of Abidjan.
Fujairah – port in United Arab Emirates where
the Probo Koala completed its delivery of liquid cargo – and its
tanks were cleaned and analysed.
Gasoline blendstock – gasoline to be blended
with other materials to meet a particular specification. Each
country has its own specifications for different types of gasolines
and fuels, and it is often necessary to blend different fuels
(feedstocks) to create a product that meets the local requirements.
This is a process carried out in terminals and on ships around the
world every day.
Hydrocarbons – organic compounds, naturally
found in crude oil, containing only hydrogen and carbon.
Hydrogen sulphide – highly toxic gas that was
shown to have been categorically not present in the Probo Koala
slops.
International Maritime Organisation (IMO) –
established in Geneva in 1948 (though now headquartered in London),
the IMO’s primary purpose is to develop and maintain a
comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping. Its remit covers a
broad range of areas including safety, environmental concerns,
legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and the
efficiency of shipping. It is a specialised agency of the United
Nations with 169 Member States and three Associate Members. In
1973, IMO adopted the International Convention for the Prevention
of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which has been amended by the
Protocols of 1978 and 1997 and kept updated with relevant
amendments.
Leigh Day & Co – the lawyers retained on
behalf of residents of the Ivory Coast who claimed to have suffered
serious injuries as a result of exposure to the Probo Koala slops.
Leigh Day & Co initiated group action proceedings in the
English High Court against Trafigura. In September 2009 a
settlement was reached, as a result of independent expert evidence
and Leigh Day & Co acknowledged in an Agreed Joint Statement
that the slops could at worst have caused low-level flu like
symptoms and anxiety.
Main VII – a tank barge assigned to take the
slops from the Probo Koala in Amsterdam harbour.
MARPOL – also known as MARPOL 73/78, it is the
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From
Ships. MARPOL 73/78 is one of the most important international
marine environmental conventions. It was designed to minimise
pollution of the seas, including dumping, oil and exhaust
pollution. Its stated object is: to preserve the marine environment
through the complete elimination of pollution by oil and other
harmful substances and the minimization of accidental discharge of
such substances.
It entered into force on 2nd October 1983. As of 31st December
2005, 136 countries, representing 98% of the world's shipping
tonnage, are parties to the Convention. In 2011 this figure
had reached 150 countries and more than 99% of the world’s shipping
tonnage.
All ships flagged under countries that are signatories to MARPOL
are subject to its requirements, regardless of where they sail, and
member nations are responsible for vessels registered under their
respective nationalities.
Mercaptans – in organic chemistry, a mercaptan
is an organosulphur compound. Many mercaptans have strong odours.
They are used as flavouring in food and also as odourants to assist
in the detection of natural gas (which in pure form is odourless),
and the ‘smell of natural gas’ is in fact due to the smell of the
mercaptan used as the odourant. Mercaptans are commonly present in
crude oil and refined oil products.
Mercaptides – water soluble salts of mercaptans
created in an alkaline environment during the caustic washing/Merox
process.
Minton, Treharne & Davies (Minton) – the
world-renowned scientific consultancy that was commissioned by
Trafigura to prepare a generic, desktop study of the potential
chemicals in the slops, without any access to data or analyses of
the actual samples. The unfinished document, which was stolen and
sent to The Guardian newspaper, became known as the Minton
Report.
Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) – actually
called the Nederlands Forensisch Instituut, it is an agency of the
Netherlands Ministry of Security and Justice. The NFI produced the
authoritative report on the composition of the slops, having
analysed the samples taken from the Probo Koala in Amsterdam. The
results showed that the slops did not contain the harmful
impurities alleged.
Operation Clean City – three-month initiative,
sponsored by the World Bank, which helped to dispose of 500,000
tonnes of waste from Abidjan in 2009.
Ore Bulk Oil (OBO) carrier – also known as a
combination carrier, a type of vessel designed to carry liquid
or dry cargoes. The Probo Koala was an OBO carrier, which also
meant it had the required tank coating to allow it to perform
caustic washing operations.
Paldiski – Estonian port that was on the Probo
Koala’s scheduled commercial route.
Petroci Jetty – jetty at SIR Refinery, used by
the Probo Koala on arrival in Abidjan.
Puma Energy CI – Puma Energy Côte D’Ivoire, a
wholly owned subsidiary oil company of Trafigura.
Societe Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR) – oil
refinery in Vridi, Abidjan.
Slops – A form of ships’ wastes generated
during cargo operations; including tank drainings, cargo residues,
tank washings and other oily mixtures.
Special Rapporteur – a title given to
individuals working on behalf of the United Nations within the
scope of ‘Special Procedures’ mechanisms who bear a specific
mandate from the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Tank barge – barge equipped with tanks to carry
liquid cargoes.
TREDI – a business unit of the French group
Séché Environnement, and a key player in the European integrated
hazardous waste management market.
TREDI was appointed by the Ivorian Government to remediate the
waste in Abidjan on 17th September 2006. Samples were drawn from
recovered soils and liquids and analyses (carried out between
October 2006 and January 2007) were submitted for authorisation for
the waste to be removed, containerised and shipped to France for
incineration.
United Nations Disaster Assessment at Coordination
(UNDAC) – part of the UN’s international emergency
response system for sudden-onset emergencies. It sent a team to
Abidjan, following the dumping of the slops, and produced an early
report on the situation.
United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) –
inter-governmental body within the UN made up of 47 States
responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human
rights around the globe. Its Special Rapporteur, Professor
Okechukwu Ibeanu, produced a controversial and poorly researched
document on the dumping of the Probo Koala’s slops and their
alleged effects on the local population.
WAIBS – shipping agent in Abidjan that
recommended Compagnie Tommy to treat the slops.
World Health Organisation (WHO) – directing and
coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system.
It was one of the first organisations to arrive in Abidjan when
reports emerged of the dumping of the slops.
WSP Environment & Energy (WSP) – a wholly
owned subsidiary of WSP Group plc, an engineering consultancy
listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1987. WSP Group has more
than 10,000 staff working from offices in 35 countries located in
Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. Its Soil
& Groundwater Contamination practice has over 300 staff in the
UK and extensive experience of examining contaminated sites.
Trafigura commissioned WSP to conduct an independent assessment of
the suspected dumping locations in and around Abidjan.