THE alleged dumping of radioactive substances in Warri, Delta State by Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, is a reminder of the need to intensify surveillance of our environment.
Apart from SPDC, E Global Limited, Western Atlas and E.D. Wales have been taken to court by the government for allegedly transporting radioactive substances from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to Warri without authorisation. Seventeen staff of the affected companies are listed as defendants in the case listed as FHC/ABJ/CR/30/2007 at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The toxic waste was dumped between September 9 and October 9, 2006, about the same time that 400 tons of toxic waste was dumped in 17 sites in Abidjan, which killed 10 people and made more than 100,000 people sick. There were wild protests in Abidjan and the Dutch company that committed the offence paid a fine of $198 million last February.
Offences the suspects in Nigeria committed ran against Section 14(2) of the Nigerian Transportation of Radioactive Sources Regulations 2006, Section 516 of Criminal Code Act Cap 77 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990, Section 5(2)(c) of Nigerian Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources Regulatory 2006, punishable under Section 45(1)(a) of the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Act 1995.
Nigerians should be alarmed about the long period it is taking the government to act. Nobody knows what damage has been done. Since the first dump of toxic waste in Koko in 1988 which led to the enactment of Federal Environmental Protection Agency Act, not much has been done by the government to ensure compliance with the Act’s provisions. The impact of Federal Environmental Protection Agency, FEPA, and its states equivalent has not been felt as pollution of various degrees continues daily.
The most affected areas in the country are in the Niger Delta region where multi-national oil companies engage in exploratory activities that are causing vast environmental degradation without sanction.
Most of the multi-national companies in collaboration with their indigenous cohorts exploit the weaknesses in our system to dump wastes that would not be tolerated in their countries. After the uproar about the dumping in Koko, there has not been a single conviction of any of the big multi-national companies that pollute our environment.
The current case of toxic dump in Warri by the affected companies and their staff must be pursued to a logical conclusion. It is a matter of public concern and the international community is watching the manner of handling and the way the case will end. To a greater extent, this will demonstrate the care government has for its people and also determine whether or not we want pollution of our environment to stop.