British Company Caught Lying About Toxic Waste Dumped On Ivory Coast

Documents have emerged which detail for the first time the lethal nature of toxic waste dumped by British-based oil trading company Trafigura in one of west Africa's poorest countries.

More than 30,000 people from Ivory Coast have been sickened by the ­poisonous cocktail and are currently bringing Britain's biggest-ever group lawsuit against the company, Trafigura.

The firm chartered the ship, Probo Koala, which transported the cargo to Ivory Coast in 2006. Trafigura originally issued statements back then denying the tanker was carrying toxic waste. It said it merely contained routine "slops" – the dirty water from tank washing. Company executives repeatedly tried to deny over the years that the waste contained any hydrogen sulphide.

However, an official Dutch analysis of samples of the waste carried by the Probo Koala now indicate that it contained approximately 2 tons of hydrogen sulphide, a killer gas with a characteristic smell of rotten eggs. According to the Guardian report, if the same quantity and mixture of chemicals had been dumped in Trafalgar Square, millions of people several miles around would have been sickened.

There is also evidence that one of the victims who had sued the company had been flown business class from Ivory Coast to Morocco, put up at a luxury hotel, and offered money. The claimant said he had also been interviewed in the Morocco hotel by Simon Nurney, partner at ­Macfarlanes, Trafigura's solicitors.

After that incident and other reports that the Trafigura had been attempting to "nobble" witnesses to induce them to change their stories, a court order was issued barring Trafigura from contacting any of the victims or claimants.