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But until legislation is passed and customs officials are trained to identify hazardous waste, there is very little the Government can do about it.

Government officials blame loopholes in legislation, incompetent customs officers and a vague environmental policy for what they admit could result in a potentially life-threatening situation.

Environmental Justice Networking Forum co-ordinator Chris Albertyn said profiteers keen to enrich themselves from importing toxic waste had an ideal opportunity.

"Until we have clear legislation on the matter, importing toxic and all kinds of waste will be okay" and South Africa will remain "completely vulnerable" in the interim, he said.

Although South Africa is party to the Basel Convention, which outlaws the movement of hazardous materials from first to third-world countries, measures being taken to control the entry of certain imported goods are insufficient.

Second-hand equipment such as transformers, electrical capacitators and agricultural equipment which contain potentially lethal polychlorinated byphenyls (PCBs) make their way through customs each year. While PCB compounds have been banned in several European countries, South Africa has opted to phase out the chemicals.

Permits for the importation of goods like electrical equipment do not require scientific tests for the presence of PCBs.

"Officially, there is really nothing (no toxic waste) coming into the country," said Willem Scott, the pollution control director in the Department of Environment and Tourism.

"However, we get false declarations at customs points, where goods come in under the guise that they are to be recycled, but this is really not the case," he said.

Because the focus is on paperwork, and staff shortages mean that only spot checks are carried out at points of entry, traffic in toxic waste remains a problem.

Rumours that radioactive materials are being moved into South Africa illegally have persisted and government sources have indicated that toxic materials were being traded for other goods.