Benin

Over the past years, industrialized nations, such as the United States (U.S.) and Europe, have ridded their nations of waste by participating in the international waste trade. The international waste trade is when industrialized nations export toxic wastes created in their country and relocate it to other undeveloped countries. This has become a debate issues due to various factors. In 1987, Sunday Nana, a Nigerian, illegally signed a contract allowing Italians, Renato Pent and Gianfranco Raffaeli, to export 18,000 containers of toxic waste created by various Italian companies out of Italy. The waste was to be placed in Nana’s backyard which was located in Koko, Nigeria where he would hoard it for a monthly fee. The hazardous waste filled …show more content…
In 1988, Benin’s president, Mathieu Kerekou, signed various contracts that stated that Benin would allow hazardous waste products to be imported into the country as long as they were being paid to hold the waste. One of the contracts was with a company called Sesco-Gibraltar. Sesco-Gibraltar and Benin had an agreement stating that the company could ship toxic waste from Europe and North America to Benin for a fee of $2.50 per each ton brought into the country. Because Benin’s government was in desperate need of the money, they were not interested in the long term effects of harboring these dangerous toxins (Benin Hazardous …show more content…
The lack of knowledge associated with the harsh chemicals can result in dangerous effects when Africans are exposed to toxins they are unaware of. As stated in the Nigeria toxic waste case, some of the Nigerians, including Nana, were not aware of the detrimental effects that the toxins had on people and were drinking water from the toxin contains resulting in many people becoming ill (Onwumere). Also, a shortage of environmentalists or officials that could help assist the countries in need is another potential reason why African countries have become targets for the international toxic waste