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BAN and GroundWork Press Release PRETORIA, South Africa, 4 September 2000 -- The environmental groups GroundWork, Greenpeace, and Basel Action Network (BAN) have learned that South Africa has imported hazardous wastes from Australia in defiance of a global ban against such exports. The ban, agreed by a consensus of 65 governments including South Africa and Australia in 1994 (Decision II/12) forbids the export of hazardous wastes for any reason from member states of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to non-OECD countries. This strict ban was agreed following numerous scandals in the late 1980s and early 1990s which saw toxic waste flowing from rich to poorer countries. In 1995 it was agreed that the Basel Ban should become a full amendment to the Convention and at the last meeting full meeting in December of last year, all 134 Basel members, including South Africa and Australia, agreed to ratify the ban amendment as a matter of urgency. Even without such ratification however, South Africa and Australia are still obliged to honor the decisions of the Convention. Yet it has now been confirmed by Australian government competent authority Geoff Thompson, that even while his government knew that the waste was regulated under the Basel Convention, they still authorised the export of 60 tonnes of paragoethite waste containing high levels of lead and arsenic from the mining giant Pasminco to the South African firm of Mintek, a mining research operation in Rand Burg, South Africa. South Africa is not a member of the OECD. To our knowledge this is the first time that there appears to be a deliberate attempt to defy the global ban. It is known that Australia has been among a minority of countries that opposes the ban but the arrogance in this open challenge to the will of the international community is breathtaking, said Jim Puckett of BAN, a global watchdog group on toxic trade issues from Seattle, USA. Equal condemnation was leveled at the South African government by GroundWork in Pietermaritzburg. We are shocked that South Africa, normally thought of as leaders in the African continent would not only flout the global ban but the will of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) as well by accepting this toxic waste, said Linda Ambler of GroundWork. The OAU has adopted numerous resolutions condemning waste trade and have adopted also the Bamako Convention which forbids toxic waste imports and ocean dumping in and around South Africa. South Africa has so far failed to ratify the Bamako Convention. Pasminco used to dump a very similar waste they called jarosite into the sea before it was forbidden by the London Convention. Now they are looking for new destinations for the toxic residues from their zinc mining operations in Tasmania. Australia justified this specific shipment by saying that the 60 tonnes of hazardous wastes were being exported for research reasons and because they were requiring that the residues from the research process be re-exported to Australia. But the environmentalists denounced this as nonsense. There is not exemption in the Basel Convention for research. Indeed, thanks to this shipment, not only has our workforce and environment been exposed to this pollution, but the scheme is a diabolical precedent -- one which has poisoned the international climate of cooperation and adherence to international agreements, said Linda Ambler of GroundWork. For more information contact: Linda Ambler Groundwork, Tel: +27-33-342 5662, Fax: +27-33-342 5665 Jim Puckett, Basel Action Network, Seattle Phone/fax 1.206.720.6426, E-mail jpuckett@ban.org FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Basel Action Network is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a `fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond `fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. More News |