EU prepares environmental crime law after Africa tragedy

[Ghost Dog]

http://euobserver.com/9/22737

Twelve people died this summer in the neighbourhood of Abidjan and up to 85,000 needed medical treatment, the UN says, after a 50,000 tonne tanker, the Probo Koala, discharged 528 cubic metres of "chemical slops" in the region.

Netherlands-based commodities trader Trafigura had chartered the Greek-owned ship to carry gasoline from Estonia to Nigeria in a routine operation which ended in the tragedy and the arrest of two Trafigura staff in Abidjan.

"The tragic incident in the Ivory Coast is just the tip of the iceberg," EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said in Strasbourg ahead of a vote on Thursday on a parliamentary resolution saying the EU must close loopholes in environmental law.

The commissioner explained that 51 percent of EU waste shipments in 2005 were found to be illegal, with Brussels set to table new legislation by the end of the year on criminal penalties for illegal shipment of waste.

....

"Africa is becoming the toxic dumping ground for developed countries," Danish green MEP Margrete Auken said in Wednesday's debate.

/...

[Nihil]

1. Better late than never?

Shame it took 51% to get their attention but at least they're making the effort now.

How about the other "developed countries" stepping up to the mark?