TED Case Studies

Black Sea Pollution

          CASE NUMBER:           3 
          CASE MNEMONIC:      BARREL
          CASE NAME:          Black Sea Barrel Pollution

A.        IDENTIFICATION

1.        The Issue

     From July to December 1988, at least 364 barrels full of
various substances washed ashore on the Turkish Black Sea coast. 
Documents found inside the barrels revealed that much if not all of
the wastes were from Italy because they were marked with an "R" for
"rifiuti," the Italian word for waste.  The Italian magistrate
investigating the case discovered that much of the waste had been
exported to Sulina, Romania, on board Maltese and Turkish vessels
in the spring of 1987.  This led to tightened Turkish legislation
to protect against illegal waste imports into the country.

2.        Description

     According to a 1988 United Nations report, West European
countries export industrial and domestic wastes to Turkey as
industrial fuel or for storage.  However, the country did not
posses the required legal and technical capacity to control these
imports.  Following a proposal by a representative from the Social
Democratic Party, Mr. Guerseler, the Turkish parliament decided on
March 3, 1988 to ban imports of industrial wastes.  Two Turkish
officials, Mr. Tuc and Mr. Yilmaz, told Andreas Bernstroff of
Greenpeace West Germany that the environmental directorate of Prime
Minister Oezal had been trying to prevent all waste imports other
than waste paper.  Turkish officials stated that it was impossible
to control every inch of the long Turkish shore and called for
strict controls on waste exports in the countries of origin.

     Between July and December 1988, more than 364 barrels full of
different toxic substances were found on the Turkish Black Sea
coast.  When the barrels first washed ashore near the towns of
Rize, Trabzon, Giresun, Ordu, Samsun, Karasu, Sile, Kandira and
Sinop, many were emptied by local people and used to store
rainwater or food; some residents suffered nausea and skin rashes. 
Reportedly, a cow died the same day it licked the contents of one
barrel and allegedly one of the barrels exploded.  Beaches were
closed as authorities began to collect the barrels.  There were
reports of dead birds, fish, and dolphins washing ashore during the
same period.  Many of the barrels were eventually buried in the
sand, while others were stored in warehouses by local authorities. 

     The first analysis of the waste was done in October 1988 by
Dr. Mehmet Ozfodan, the acting manager of the Turkish health
service.  The samples showed that the waste was comprised of paint
or benzene and cellulose lacquer wastes.  Ozfodan also confirmed
the presence of insecticides containing DDT as well as PCBs.

3.        Related Cases

     BLACKSEA case
     MEDIT case
     JELLYWAX case
     KHAIN case
     BALTIC case

     Keyword Clusters         

     (1): Trade Product            = WASTE
     (2): Bio-geography            = OCEAN
     (3): Environmental Problem    = Pollution Sea [POLS]

4.        Draft Author: Sawsan Al-Ali

B.        LEGAL Filters

5.        Discourse and Status:  DISagreement and COMPlete

     The Italian magistrate investigating the case found that much
of the waste was exported to Sulina, Romania on board the ships
Corina and Akbay II, which were Maltese and Turkish vessels.  One
of the exporting companies was Sirteco Italia SRL, a commercial
agent operating in the ecology sector, which signed an agreement
with the management of the port of Sulina to ship explosive
radioactive waste to be stored temporarily in areas set aside for
that purpose.  Later, the waste was to be disposed of (under
legislation in force in Romania) either through burial in two
special dumps or through incineration.  

     Although no special dumps or incinerators are known to exist
in Romania, the deal was completed, and European wastes from such
companies as Uniroyal, Acha Chimica Organica, and Hoechst were
transported and stacked in unventilated hangers where no fire-
fighting equipment was available.  

     It was no surprise that the Romanian Minister of Foreign Trade
was implicated in the scheme and was subsequently dismissed along
with five other government officials.  In July, 1988, seven other
Romanians were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 11 to 18
years for their involvement in the deal.  An investigation by
Robin-des-Bois, a French environmental group, showed that the
wastes were stored for about a year by Romanian authorities, then
were loaded on board a Panamanian vessel called the Munzur, which
was operated by the Turkish company Careroglu.  The vessel had 10
derricks making it easy to dump barrels at sea, and the dumping was
clearly intentional as holes had been punched in the barrels to
make them sink.  It is presumed the ones which washed ashore
represented but a small percentage of the entire shipment and that
the vast majority of the barrels sank.  So far, there has been no
effort to have the wastes returned to Italy.

6.        Forum and Scope:  TURKey and BIlATeral

     This dispute is a bi-lateral case between Turkey and Italy,
but did not expand to include other members of the EC.  As was
indicated before, the Italian magistrate investigated the case and
discovered that much of the waste had been exported to Romania and
re-exported to Turkey.

7.        Decision Breadth:  3 (Turkey, Italy, Romania)

8.        Legal Standing:  LAW

     Both Turkish and Italian law relate to the export and import
of toxic materials.  Romanian law also indirectly applied.

C.        GEOGRAPHIC Filters

9.   Geographic Locations

     a.   Geographic Domain : MIDEAST
     b.   Geographic Site   : Black Sea [BLKSEA]
     c.   Geographic Impact : TURKEY

     This case is related to Turkey, but continued dumping in the
Black Sea could impact many countries that border the body of
water, including Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria,
Greece and Georgia (see BLACKSEA case).

10.       Sub-National Factors:  NO

11.       Type of Habitat:  OCEAN

     The habitat is the Black Sea and its environment.

D.        TRADE Filters

12.       Type of Measure:  Import Ban [IMBAN] 

     The measure would ensure the ban on imports of waste into
Turkey.

13.       Direct vs. Indirect Impacts:  DIRect

14.       Relation of Trade Measure to Resource Impact

     a.  Directly Related to Product   : YES  WASTE 
     b.  Indirectly Related to Product : NO
     c.  Not Related to Product        : NO
     d.  Related to Process            : YES  Pollution Sea [POLS]

15.       Trade Product Identification:  WASTE

     The waste included DDT, PCBs, Paint, Benzene and Cellulose
Lacquer.

16.       Economic Data

     It is hard to find information to verify Turkey's level of
trade in wastes.  However, following a proposal by a representative
from the Social Democratic Party, the Turkish parliament decided on
March 3, 1988, to ban imports of industrial wastes other than waste
paper. 

17.       Impact of Measure on Trade Competitiveness:  BAN

18.       Industry Sector:  WASTE

19.       Exporter and Importer:  ITALY and TURKey

E.        ENVIRONMENT Filters

20.       Environmental Problem Type:  Pollution Sea [POLS]

     The environmental impact of this problem is basically related
to the Turkish Black Sea shore and nearby offshore waters.  The
wastes in this one case alone are not significant enough to affect
the entire Black Sea, but continued dumping could cause many
damages.

21.       Name, Type, and Diversity of Species 

     Name:          Many
     Type:          Many
     Diversity:     Sustainable yield of
                    1,250,000 metric
                    tons\year (Mediterranean
                    and Black Seas)

22.       Resource Impact and Effect:  LOW and PRODuct

     One dumping incident will not destroy the Black Sea.  However,
it is clear that this one incident is just the tip of the iceberg. 
No doubt, this problem will grow as economic hard times continue to
plague the countries that surround the Black Sea: Greece, Bulgaria,
Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and Georgia.

23.       Urgency and Lifetime:  LONG and 100s of years

24.       Substitutes:  Bio-degradable [BIODG] products 

VI.       OTHER Factors

25.       Culture: NO

26.       Trans-Border:  YES

     The waste floated from international waters into Turkey's area
of jurisdiction.  Therefore, the case may relate to the Law of the
Sea (see KHIAN case).

27.       Rights:  YES

     The fouling of developing countries by industrial waste from
developed countries is a human rights question.  Within the
developing countries, the sites for waste dumping also tend to be
in the poorest parts of the countries.

28.       Relevant Literature

Bassett, Richard. "Rumanians Jailed in Danube Pollution Scandal."
     The London Times (July 20, 1988).
Bonnemains, Jacky. "Peche aux fut toxiques dans la mer Noire."
     Liberation (April 17, 1990).
Dufour, Jean-Paul; Denis, Corinne.  "The North's Garbage goes 
     South."  World Press Review 35 (Nov. 1988): 30-32.
"Hazardous Wastes Spark EC Dispute." Transportation and
     Distribution 33 (February 1992): 20.
Hilz, Christoph.  The International Toxic Waste Trade.  New York,
     N.Y: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992.
Ketchum, Bostwick; Kester, Dana; and Park, Kilhol, eds..
     Ocean Dumping of Industrial Wastes.  Proceedings of First
     International Ocean Dumping Symposium (University of
     Rhode Island, 1978).  New York: Plenum Press, 1981.
Millman, Joel.  "Exporting Hazardous Waste."  Technology Review 
     92 (Apr. 1989): 6-7.
Phillips, Andrew.  "Poison in Poor Lands."  Mclean's 101 (August
     1 ,1988): 51-2.
Viceret, Charles.  "Mer Noire: poubelle de l'Europe, Captures 
     en baisse et fut toxiques".  Le Marin (March 30, 1990).

                           References