Toxic Waste Controversy

Australia's Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull has backed a proposal by the world's largest explosives maker, Orica, to transport 22,000 tons of toxic waste to Germany for disposal.

He said he is satisfied Australia does not have the capacity now, nor in the near future, to dispose of the waste stored at Botany Bay in Sydney for the last 20 years.

He stressed that he would not issue a permit for export unless Germany agrees to accept the waste.

Resistance

German authorities are now questioning the safety of the transport arrangements and whether it is necessary.

The 60,000 barrels of hexachlorobenzene will have to travel 16,000 kilometers (9,940 miles) by train and ship before they go up in smoke in German incinerators.

Hexachlorobenzene or HCB is highly toxic, collecting up in fatty tissues and causing serious diseases. Even after it's been incinerated, there are poisonous solid residues which still have to be dumped somewhere safe.

Markus Friese, spokesman for the environment ministry in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where most of the waste will end up, said the Australians should deal with their own rubbish.

"Australia is an industrial nation," he said. "It was able to produce this stuff, so we believe that Australia should also be able to get rid of it."

But Heinz Struszczynski, spokesman for RZR Herten, one of the plants which will be dealing with the HCB, said that isn't the case.

"This waste is very special," he said. "It's one of the so-called Dirty Dozen identified by the Stockholm Convention."

Struszczynski added that this kind of waste can only be processed in special plants of high quality, and these plants can only be found in Europe, and particularly in Germany. Other waste, even toxic waste, can be dealt with in Australian plants.

Making money

According to the Basle Convention, toxic waste must be dealt with in the country of origin if it has the capacity to do so or if it is reasonable to expect that capacity to be provided. If this is not the case, it can be exported. Officials plan a thorough check to see if there really are no suitable plants in Australia, or if they can't be built.

But Dirk Jansen of German Friends of the Earth said he feels the problem is ultimately a German one.

"The main reason why North Rhine-Westphalia is an El Dorado for toxic waste disposal in Germany, with 600,000 tons a year imported, is that it's an easy way of making money," he said. "In the eighties, the operators built up over-capacities which now have to be filled.

"I can't believe it will remain a one-off," he added. "We fear that the gates will be opened for waste imports from the whole world."