Toxic Cities: Globalizing the Problem of Waste

Part of a special issue on war, crisis, and transition. The writer explores the challenges relating to toxic waste disposal and the global character of some forms of “resolving” this problem. He presents a case study of a toxic event that occurred in August 2006 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, which is rev...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: White, Rob (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2008
In: Social justice
Year: 2008, Volume: 35, Issue: 3, Pages: 107-119
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
Hazardous substances
Hazardous waste management industry
Hazardous wastes
Hazardous waste sites
Petroleum waste
Sodium hydroxide
Waste disposal sites
Waste management
Description
Summary:Part of a special issue on war, crisis, and transition. The writer explores the challenges relating to toxic waste disposal and the global character of some forms of “resolving” this problem. He presents a case study of a toxic event that occurred in August 2006 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, which is reverberating legally and politically within the West African nation and in Europe, the U.K., and Jamaica. The writer describes the toxic waste dumping event, the reaction of “responsible” parties, and the aftermath of the event. He identifies multiple players, diverse interests, and conflicting purposes underpinning toxic waste disposal, and he highlights the importance of the internationalization and globalization of the problem in understanding how such events as the dumping in Abidjan occurred.