Post #297

Côte d’Ivoire’s Hazardous Flying Dutchman [Cost of Greed] Twenty years ago, off the coast of Côte d’Ivoire, an event occurred in which no one drowned — yet it could easily overshadow the tragic sinking of the Titanic. In 2006, a multinational company called Trafigura faced an unusual problem: it had purchased an extremely sulphurous but cheap petroleum product known as coker gasoline, which needed to be somehow refined into regular fuel. ⏩ The goal was not only to refine the hazardous substance, but also to save as much as possible alongthe way.⏪ ⚓️Instead of hiring a proper refinery, Trafigura decided to process the toxic feedstock at sea — on an old ship called Probo Koala, using an outdated method known as "caustic washing", in which coker gasoline is treated with caustic soda. ☣️ The scheme worked, and the company sold the resulting fuel for $19 million — but what remained on board was toxic waste. 💵 And once again money was accorded priority: Trafigura rejected an offer to treat the waste in the Netherlands for $620,000, and the Probo Koala began wandering along the coast of West Africa in search of anyone willing to rid it of its poisonous burden. ⚠️ Eventually the company hired shady contractors in Abidjan for miserable $17,000. Upon arrival, after the ship unloaded the waste, the material was allegedly spread by subcontractors across the city and its surroundings, dumped in waste grounds, public landfills, and along roads in populated areas. In the weeks that followed, the BBC reported that 17 people died , 23 were hospitalized , and another 40,000 sought medical treatment . 🤝 For fear of prosecution, Trafigura agreed in 2007 to pay the Ivorian government around $200 million — for an indulgence that granted the company sweeping immunity from prosecution. Hazardous waste still lie in the soil underneath Abidjan. #CostOfGreed Devils Below