A British company has been named as the source of cancer-causing chemicals currently spilling onto the quayside at the East African port of Djibouti.
A UN inspector who has visited the scene told New Scientist that around 200 tonnes of chromated copper arsenate, a wood preservative, was leaking from plastic drums on the dockside of the East African country. The leak “is creating serious human health and environmental problems,” Kevin Helps from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation says.
CSI Wood Protection of Widnes has admitted to the FAO that it manufactured and packaged the chemicals in plastic drums for sale to an Ethiopian power corporation and shipment to Africa.
The FAO refused to name the company involved, but it was identified to New Scientist by the UK Pesticides Action Network, which has seen the FAO documents. CSI, a subsidiary of the US chemicals conglomerate Rockwood Specialties, was not able to comment this morning.
“The trouble is that the chemical is acidic and has corroded the polyethylene drums,” said Helps. “It should never have been put in plastic drums. I am told previous consignments were shipped in metal drums.”
The pesticide was destined for the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation, which wanted it to treat wooden poles that hold power lines. New Scientist understands that the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation may have requested the change to plastic packaging, but it was subsequently approved both by CSI and an international shipping inspector.
The leaks, from drums inside ten shipping containers, began while the chemicals were on aboard ship. But spilling continued on land after the containers were offloaded in mid-January. “When I tried to open one of the container doors, I could feel the weight of the liquid behind,” said Helps.
The total contaminated area is about 200 metres by 100 metres, Helps said. The spill is contaminating soil and is close to a food-aid store, as well as endangering port workers. The liquid is highly soluble and will spread if it rains, said Helps.
The FAO this week called for emergency aid to clean up the mess. “The authorities in Djibouti should not be left alone with this problem,” says Helps. “The material needs to be sent back to the UK. No suitable facilities exist in Africa for its safe disposal.”
Chromated copper arsenate is widely used to preserve outdoor wooden structures from telegraph poles to garden decking. Standard formulations contain 22-per-cent pure arsenic, a poison that can cause skin, bladder and lung cancer in humans and is linked to diabetes.
Last week, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced a voluntary decision by the wood industry to phase out all use of the chemical in products destined for homes, gardens and parks.
“In many developing countries they don’t realise the risks from these chemicals. Really they shouldn’t be sold to them,” said Helps, who is currently in charge of a programme by the FAO to clean up 900 old pesticides dumps in Ethiopia.