Toxic waste sickening Somalia (Radiation symptoms after tsunami...Source: Eurotrash)

News 24 (South Africa) ^ | March 4, 2005

[Stoat]

Toxic waste sickening Somalia
04/03/2005 20:12  - (SA)  

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• Toxic waste on Somali beaches

 

 

Nairobi - Very toxic waste washed on to Somali's coastline by last December's tsumani have spawned diseases bearing symptoms of radioactive exposure in villagers along the shorelines of the shattered African nation, UN Environment Programme said on Friday.

Citing initial reports, Unep spokesperson Nick Nuttall told AFP that "there are indications that harzardous waste, radioactive waste, chemical waste and other substances, (in containers) which have been dumped on the Somali coastline, were damaged by the tsunami".

United Nations officials said the deadly waves, which originated off Indonesia on December 26, possibly damaged the containers in northern Somalia and spilled the waste to the open, from where it spread further - either by wind and humans - causing diseases.

Nuttall said United Nations agencies working in northern Somalia, a country that has been wracked by anarchy since 1991, reported symptoms of diseases.

"There are reports from villagers of a wide range of medical problems like mouth bleeds, abdominal haemorrhages, unusual skin disorders and breathing difficulties," Nuttall said. UN officials familiar with the situation say the diseases bear radiation sickness symptoms.

"Unep is in discussions with (Somali) government with a view to sending a full assessment mission to the country so that we can work out the magnitude of the problem," Nuttall explained.

Somalia authorities reported that nearly 300 people - a figure the humanitarian agencies dispute - were killed and thousands displaced by the tsunami waves, which were sparked by an undersea quake in Indonesia on December 26.

In the late 1980s, European firms dumped wastes such as uranium, lead, cadmium, mercury and other industrial waste in northern Somalia, but the trend picked up rapidly after the violent ouster of strongman Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991, according to United Nations officials.

[drt1]

Sounds like a play for more Aid to me.

[xrp]

Has anyone pegged this on Bush, Cheney and Halliburton yet?

[happyathome]

I suppose none of Europe's precious international environmental treaties cover this.

[DAVEY CROCKETT]

Things that make you go Hmmmm PING.

[taxesareforever]

Ah ha, now we are finding out where Russia is dumping all their obsolete nuclear subs.

[taxesareforever]

Sounds like a play for more Aid to me.

Just like the call for more money for aid to combat AIDS in Africa. These people never stop. Reminds me of the National Education Association.

[farmfriend]

Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

[kittymyrib]

Just the war lords trying to cash in on a piece of the action. It beats eating lizards and bugs.

[Blue Screen of Death]

Huh? People in Somalia? I thought they were all driving cabs in San Diego and contributing to cultural diversity.

[E.G.C.]

BTT!!!!!

[hedgetrimmer]

UNEP is jockeying for more authority.

With US isolation, UNEP faces clearer priorities in cleaning nature

There is a proposal by France and Germany to turn UNEP into a full-fledged UN agency with stronger powers and a bigger budget,

[Owl558]

"In the late 1980s, European firms dumped wastes such as uranium, lead, cadmium, mercury and other industrial waste in northern Somalia"

Hypocrites have the nerve to critisize us over Kyoto.

[LongElegantLegs]

In related news, a crate of the unsold autobiography "My Life" has also cracked open and been washed to shore. Villagers report outbreaks of rampant vacuity and bleeding eyeballs in all literate inhabitants.

[Shery]

Actually, I am not surprised! With all the arrogance of the Europeans about recycling, it didn't take long for us to realize, after we moved to Europe, that they were shipping the stuff to other countries. I don't know how much they pay the country it is dumped in, but this has been going on for some time...a couple decades, if not longer. I'm not sure that most Europeans are aware of this, as the press is controlled by the government. When I brought this up in tea group (German-American) they ladies were shocked, but I'd seen the stuff first-hand. They have strict laws about dumping things and burying things here. You cannot just flush out-dated medications down the toilet here either, and they hate bleach, so you have to sneak it into your house.

But as one of the other commentors said, it will be Bush's fault somehow, if not here, in the USA amongst the dims & libs.

[taxesareforever]

There is a proposal by France and Germany to turn UNEP into a full-fledged UN agency with stronger powers and a bigger budget,

Now this is shocking!!!!NOT!!! A UN agency with a bigger budget? Shocking!!! NOT!!!

[denydenydeny]

I would be surprised if the usual suspects didn't try to seize on this story as "proof" that the tsunami was deliberately caused by an underwater Israeli nuclear blast.