Greenpeace blocks ship in Estonian port

Greenpeace blocks ship in Estonian port over Ivory Coast toxic dumping.

TALLINN -- Greenpeace activists in Estonia on Monday blocked the departure of a Dutch ship that had unloaded chemical waste blamed for the deaths of seven people in Ivory Coast, the organization and news reports said.

A Greenpeace statement said its ship Arctic Sunrise dropped anchor in front of the gasoline tanker Probo Koala at the Estonian port of Paldiski, preventing it from leaving.

The activists demanded that Estonian authorities impound the ship pending a criminal investigation.

Police were dispatched to the scene, the Baltic News Service reported. Estonian authorities could not immediately be reached late Monday to confirm the reports.

Dutch authorities are investigating the ship's owner, Trafigura Beheer BV, over the disposal of toxic waste in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The company says the waste contained only residue of a gas-oil blend and the caustic soda commonly used for cleaning petrochemical tankers.

But a U.N. analysis of the .....

..... waste material found dumped in residential neighborhoods in Abidjan found it contained toxic levels of hydrogen sulfide.

Ivory Coast hospitals have provided free treatment to 44,000 people in the past few weeks, many of them complaining of nausea, headaches, and breathing difficulties caused by the foul-smelling substance, according to the country's Health Ministry.

Trafigura's director Claude Dauphin and another executive were jailed in Ivory Coast last week on suspicion of poisoning and breaking toxic waste laws after they went to the country to assist authorities with the cleanup effort.

Mounting public anger over the dumping resulted in the resignation of the entire Ivory Coast government earlier this month. But most of the 36 members were later reappointed.

In the Netherlands, there are three investigations into the matter by Amsterdam prosecutors, the City of Amsterdam, and the Transport Ministry.

..... waste material found dumped in residential neighborhoods in Abidjan found it contained toxic levels of hydrogen sulfide.

Ivory Coast hospitals have provided free treatment to 44,000 people in the past few weeks, many of them complaining of nausea, headaches, and breathing difficulties caused by the foul-smelling substance, according to the country's Health Ministry.

Trafigura's director Claude Dauphin and another executive were jailed in Ivory Coast last week on suspicion of poisoning and breaking toxic waste laws after they went to the country to assist authorities with the cleanup effort.

Mounting public anger over the dumping resulted in the resignation of the entire Ivory Coast government earlier this month. But most of the 36 members were later reappointed.

In the Netherlands, there are three investigations into the matter by Amsterdam prosecutors, the City of Amsterdam, and the Transport Ministry.