POPs IN AFRICA HAZARDOUS WASTE TRADE 1980 - 2000 ... - Arte

21 Greenpeace International, “Oceanic Disposal Inc.” cit.
As many as 35,834 penetrators were expected to be used to dump
the radioactive wastes currently stored in the European
Community alone.
On 19 December, 1995 the AEC gave public, firm assurances
that it was not and would not become involved in the project
proposed by ODM. Had the proposal been accepted, ODM
would have guaranteed financial gains of up to USD 660 per
annum, and employment for 1857 workers for a maximum
construction of 540 penetrators. 560 more jobs would have been
created thanks to activities connected to the construction of
special catamarans to be used for the shipping of the penetrators
to the disposal site. ODM stated they were ready to invest USD
. 21
40 million in South Africa
On 10 January, 1996, upon request from the Contracting Parties
to the LC, the Chairman of the Convention wrote a letter to ODM
informing them that their planned disposal activities were not
sanctioned by the LC and asking them to fundamentally
reconsider their plans. The International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) in Vienna was asked to send a similar message. The
IAEA failed to do so as of November 1997.
ODM continued to promote its project by all the means at its
disposal, and even expanded its scope to include asbestos
disposal.
During 1994 and 1995 ODM had already contacted at least 16
African countries through consulates and embassies in Italy,
France, and Belgium or through mediators: Angola, Benin, Cape
Verde, Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry,
Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South
Africa, Togo, and Zaire - seeking dumping sites for radioactive
waste. 22
For example, in 1994, ODM approached the military junta in
Sierra Leone with a proposal to install a penetrator construction
facility on Mes-Meheux island. A harbour would be built on the
island to load the penetrators, which would then be dumped at
sea, 100 km off the coast, within the Exclusive Economic Zone
of Sierra Leone.
A letter of intent between ODM and Sierra Leone, to be signed in
London, included the construction of the following facilities
(among others):
a) an airport on Dublin Island for the import of radioactive
wastes;
b) an incinerator for national and foreign wastes;
c) a nuclear power plant;
22
Testimony of public prosecutors Franco Scuderi and Francesco Neri from the District Council of Reggio Calabria before the
Italian Paliamentarian Commission on waste management (Commissione Parlamentare sul ciclo dei rifiuti), Rome 21 Nov. 1995
21