Dioxin mystery unsolved

Press, 6 May 1983, Page 14

Dioxin mystery unsolved

From

LIZ BARDER

in Geneva

The hunt for the missing chemical waste from the 1976 Seveso disaster in Italy, when an explosion scattered highly toxic dioxin throughout the area; is developing into something resembling the plot of a spy thriller. Two tons of chemical waste containing dioxin, stored in 41 barrels, left Italy last year but their ultimate destination is still unknown to the public, and, most probably, to the owners of the Seveso plant, the Swiss chemical company, Hoffman-La Roche. Rumours that the barrels were in France or East Germany, or possibly the United Kingdom, have been superseded, by reliable reports that they have been transported from France to Antwerp in Belgium, from where they are being shipped to Sierra Leone. : TM firm bf contractors Wigin-

ally hired to transport the dioxin from Seveso passed on the work to two other companies, Spelidec, a Marseilles firm, and a Swiss company, Vadir. One of the directors of Spelidec, Barnard Paringaux, is- being held in France for refusing to give information about the transport and destination of the waste. The Italian authorities say they know where the dioxin is being stored before processing but insist they are under no obligation to reveal the details. » The contract between the authorities in Seveso and Mannesmann-Italy, the firm which undertook to transport the waste,

had a clause which allowed for the barrels to be returned to Italy if the dumping site became common knowledge and residents complained. Early this year the European Commission in Brussels asked the Italian Government for details of the storage and elimination of dioxin waste. The Italians gave information about the nature of the containers and the way they had been transported, and added that the waste had been stored 17ft underground. The commission was satisfied with the reply. Under E.E.C. rules, national governments must dispose of dangerous chemical waste without endangering the environment or people’s health, although governments do not have to inform the commission of the destination of such waste. The E.E.C. directive

forbids both uncontrolled dumping and uncontrolled transport of hazardous substances but leaves the monitoring up to member States.

The chain of sub-contractors involved in the disposal of the Seveso dioxin is leading to concern that the E.E.C.’s directive on the transport of toxic waste has been breached. However, the European Commission in Brussels is reluctant to chase up the culprits.

A spokesman for the commission said: “We do not want to interfere in finding the stuff. It is not our business to take responsibility away from the member States. Anyway, how can you impose physical control over the barrels from this building in Brussels?” — London Observer Ser-