Lebanon Waste Imports from Italy (JELLYWAX)
CASE NUMBER: 39
CASE MNEMONIC: JELLYWAX
CASE NAME: Jelly Wax (Italy) Exports
A. IDENTIFICATION
1. The Issue
An Italian firm, Jelly Wax, allegedly shipped over 2,400
tones
of chemical wastes to Lebanon between September, 1987 and June,
1988 through ports outside Lebanese government control. On June 5,
1988, barrels of Italian hazardous wastes were discovered on the
Kerswan shore, north of Beirut. Soon barrels that had been dumped
at sea were discovered by fishermen in the southern port of Tyre,
to the south of Beirut. An additional 2,411 tones of wastes were
discovered in East Beirut and Ghazir, 25 kilometers north of
Beirut. After initial government inability to force Rome to remove
the wastes, threats by Lebanese terrorist organizations led to
Italian clean-up efforts.
2. Description
On June 5, 1988, barrels of Italian wastes were discovered on
the Kerswan shore, East Beirut and Ghazir. A Lebanese scientist
was hospitalized after he fell ill while inspecting some of the
barrels of waste. "We are facing a new kind of war," said one
Lebanese citizen. "Maybe we can avoid shells and bullets. But how
can we avoid pollution?" The wastes in East Beirut and Ghazir had
been unloaded by the Radhost, a waste trading vessel, in mid-May.
The Radhost, owned by the Czechoslovakia Ocean Shipping Company,
attempted to deliver these wastes to Venezuela in late 1987.
According to a Christian Lebanese television station, Lebanese
businessman named Roger Haddad had demanded $500,000 in U.S.
dollars for taking the wastes from Jelly Wax.
The Italian ambassador Antonio Mancini later met with
Lebanese
Acting Prime Minister Salim Hoss in June to negotiate an agreement
to remove the wastes. Italy offered to pay $3 million in U.S.
Dollars toward the clean up costs, but Lebanon demanded that Italy
pay the entire cost. Senior Lebanese officials encouraged Hoss to
recall the Lebanese ambassador from Rome or to freeze diplomatic
ties with Italy to pressure Italy to fund the entire clean up.
Hoss did neither.
On June 23, 1988 an anonymous caller from the "Organization
of
Preserving the Lebanese Right" threatened to physically attack
Italian interests in Lebanon unless the Italian government removed
the wastes within one week. The threat of terrorist reprisal did
spur the Italian government to action, in contrast to the
ineffectual efforts of the government of Lebanon. Two vessels, the
Vorais Sporiades (formerly the Jumbo Trust) and the Yvonne/A,
reloaded the wastes in July and August 1988, but were still in
Lebanese waters in early November. They remained at anchor,
awaiting Italian government orders to return to Italy. On
December 15, 1988, the Italian government announced that the waste
would be shipped to the Italian port of La Spezia. The mayor of La
Spezia agreed to this, provided the wastes were identified and the
stay in port was limited.
In March, 1989, the Lebanese delegate to the Basel
Convention,
Dr. Milad Jarjouhi, reported on imports of Italian waste. A total
of 16,000 barrels and numerous other containers of chemical wastes
were, Jarjouhi claimed, delivered as raw materials and recycling
goods to numerous Lebanese companies by "Italian Mafia-dealers,"
who, it was discovered, had simply left the wastes or had shipped
it into the mountains. He showed photographs of children who
suffered from cauterized patches of skin. He also said that there
were still 9,000 barrels "lost in the mountains."
3. Related Cases
Keyword Clusters
(1): Trade Product = WASTE
(2): Bio-geography = OCEAN
(3): Environmental Problem = Pollution Sea [POLS]
4. Draft Author: Sawsan Al-Ali
B. LEGAL Clusters
5. Discourse and Status: DISagreement and COMPlete
The case was a disagreement between the governments of
Lebanon
and Italy, with input from Lebanese terrorist groups.
6. Forum and Scope: LEBANon and BILATeral
This is a bi-lateral dispute between Lebanon and Italy.
Lebanon had demanded that Italy bear the entire cost of removing
the wastes from Lebanese shores.
7. Decision Breadth: 2 (ITALY and LEBANon)
Only two countries were involved in the case. Italy,
however,
is involved in several waste dumping cases in Africa and elsewhere,
many involving the firm of Jelly Wax (see NIGERIA and SOMALIA
cases).
8. Legal Standing: LAW
The case hinges on Lebanese law, although Italian law also
applies. Signatories to the Basel Convention (see BASEL case), the countries' are also bound by
international law.
C. GEOGRAPHIC Clusters
9. Geographic Locations
Several locations are involved, but the actual site damage
was
on the Lebanese coast of the Mediterranean Sea (see MEDIT case).
a. Geographic Domain : MIDEAST
b. Geographic Site : Eastern Middle East [EMID]
c. Geographic Impact : LEBANon
10. Sub-National Factors: NO
There are few sub-national factors at issue in the case.
11. Type of Habitat: OCEAN
The habitat is the coast of Lebanon as well as surrounding
waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
D. TRADE Clusters
12. Type of Measure: Import Ban [IMBAN]
The measure is a ban on imports of certain wastes into
Lebanon.
13. Direct vs. Indirect Impacts: DIRect
The relation is direct, since it applies to imports.
14. Relation of Measure to Environmental Impact
a. Directly Related : YES WASTE
b. Indirectly Related : NO
c. Not Related : NO
d. Process Related : YES Pollution Sea [POLS]
15. Trade Product Identification : WASTE (Hazardous)
16. Economic Data
Little reliable data about waste trade in Lebanon exists.
17. Degree of Competitive Impact: BAN
The enforcement of the ban would prevent the import of these
waste protects.
18. Industry Sector: WASTE
19. Exporter and Importer: ITALY and LEBANon
E. ENVIRONMENT Clusters
20. Environmental Problem Type: Pollution Sea [POLS]
Even though very little is known about the long-term impact
of
this waste on the human inhabitants, even less is known about its
impact on the sea and its inhabitants.
21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species
Name: Many
Type: Many
Diversity: NA
22. Resource Impact and Effect: LOW and PRODuct
This one incident will not have a long-term impact.
23. Urgency and Lifetime: LONG and 100s of years
24. Substitutes: Bio-degradable [BIODG] products
Italy is a large exporter of wastes and needs to reduce waste
production for both economic and environmental reasons.
VI. OTHER Factors
25. Culture: NO
26. Trans-Border: YES
The waste will probably drift to other countries in the
region, or out into the Mediterranean Sea.
27. Human Rights: YES
The danger to human health from the waste dumping is a human
rights issue.
28. Relevant Literature
Anderson, Harry. "The Global Poison Trade." Newsweek 112
(Nov. 7, 1988): 66-8.
Dufour, Jean-Paul and Denis, Corinne. "The North's Garbage goes
South." World Press Review 35 (Nov. 1988): 30-2.
"Ending the Traffic in Toxic Waste." UN Chronicle 26 (June
1989): 71.
"Hazardous Wastes Spark EC Dispute." Transportation and
Distribution 33 (Feb. 1992): 20.
Henwood, Douglas. "Toxic Banking." The Nation 254 (Mar. 2
1992): 257.
Hilz, Christoph. The International Toxic Waste Trade.
New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992.
"Inside the Poison Trade." Videorecording/Central Independent
Television and Belbo Film co-production in association
with the Television Trust for the Environment. North
Brook, II: MTI Film and Video, 1990
Kaj, Ria. UPI (July 18, 1988).
Millman, Joel. "Exporting Hazardous Waste." Technology Review
92 (Apr. 1989): 6-7.
O'Sullivan, Dermot A. "UN Environment Program Targets Issue of
Hazardous Waste Exports." Chemical Engineering News 66
(Sept. 26 1988): 24-7
Phillips, Andrew. "Poison in Poor Lands." Mclean's 101
(August 1, 1988): 51-2
Reuters News Reports (June 16/23/29, 1988) and
(July 2/11/14, 1988).
Ruffins, Paul. "Toxic Terrorism Invades Third World Nations."
Black Enterprise 19 (November 19, 1988): 31.
"Toxic Wastes: Poisoning the Planet." UN Chronicle 29 (June
1992): 61.
"Toxic Wastes to Italy." Dagens Nyheter (Sweden, June 8, 1988).
References
[End notes will be added]
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