Rome The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior today returned
two of thousands of barrels of highly toxic waste dumped in the
Black Sea fifteen years ago to Italy, the country of origin.
Greenpeace activists unloaded the toxic waste barrels from the
Rainbow Warrior in Naples and transported them to the Ministry of
Environment in Rome where they displayed a banner reading "Italian
Toxic Waste Back to Sender". Since being dumped, 367 of the barrels
have washed up on Turkish shores and have been stored in two
warehouses in the Turkish villages of Sinop and Samsun, where they
are leaking and threatening the environment and public health.
Greenpeace activists collected two of the barrels of waste from the
Turkish warehouses before loading it onto the Rainbow Warrior in
Istanbul last December.
Greenpeace toxics campaigner Vittoria Polidori said: "Despite
clear evidence that it is liable for this waste, the Italian
government has refused to accept responsibility for it. In doing
so, it has served as an accomplice in exposing Turkish communities
to health risks and environmental degradation."
Greenpeace also released a report entitled "A Fifteen Year Toxic
Scandal" that outlines details of this case, including the names of
the companies involved, the ships used to transport and dump the
barrels and the authorities responsible for it.
The report states that Italian waste brokers Sirteco S.R. of
Agrate Brianza and Piattaforma Ecologica Industriale Srl of Venice
(P.E.I.Srl), commissioned the transportation of thousands of
barrels of toxic waste to Romania. Although officially the waste
was due to be incinerated or landfilled in Romania, no such
facilities existed there. After being stored in the port of Sulina,
the waste was then loaded onto another ship and dumped into the
Black Sea.
Although the documents exist that prove the Italian waste was
dumped illegally, the Turkish authorities failed to get Italy to
take it back. Instead, they chose to leave it in small Turkish
villages despite opposition from local people.
"By collecting this waste and returning it to Italy, Greenpeace
is doing what the Italian authorities should have done years ago.
The Italian government must take responsibility for retrieving the
remaining waste, disposing of it safely in Italy and cleaning up
the soil around the two warehouses where the barrels have been
abandoned," said Greenpeace Mediterranean Campaigner Tolga Temuge
outside the Italian Ministry of Environment in Rome.
Notes: Videofootage of the waste collection is available on video on request from Greenpeace The report and the video of "A Fifteen Year Toxic Scandal" is available from Greenpeace Italy, Turkey and the international press desk or via http://www.greenpeace.org/~toxics/reports/italianwaste.pdf The Turkish Minister for the Environment, Aytekin, is planning to incinerate the toxic waste in Turkey rather than returning it to its origin. After protests by Greenpeace and local groups, the Izaydas hazardous waste incinerator in Izmit, Turkey, did not received an operation permit from the Turkish Ministry of Environment due to the potential hazards it poses to public health. The company is currently trying to get the operation permit, despite opposition of local people.