Toxic “slops” company reaches compensation agreement with solicitors
London-based oil traders Trafigura have agreed to pay £30m in compensation to victims of toxic “slops” that were dumped in an area of the Ivory Cost in August 2006, as an act of goodwill.
The chemical waste, a mixture of gasoline residue and caustic soda produced as a result of refining dirty fuel, was generated by Trafiguara before being transported to the Ivory Coast.
The disposal of the waste was then sub-contracted to a local firm, Companie Tommy. The waste was then dumped at 15 locations in the vicinity of Abidjan, the country’s largest city.
The company has maintained that it was not responsible for dumping the waste because it was carried out by Compagnie Tommy.
In a joint statement issued after the settlement—which amounts to roughly £950 for each of the 30,000 people affected by the waste—Trafigura’s director, Eric de Turckheim, said the company was “completely vindicated”. “While we certainly do not accept legal liability, Trafigura regrets the Probo Koala incident and, in particular, the distress that it caused the local population,” he said.
A joint statement,
