Brazil to complain about UK toxic waste.
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- sirpaulmcdarkney
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Brazil is to lodge a formal complaint that alleged illegal shipments of UK toxic waste have breached international conventions, its government has said.
Environment Agency officers and police in Britain raided three properties in the Swindon area of Wiltshire this week, arresting men aged 24, 28 and 49.
They want 1,400 tonnes of waste from 99 containers, said to include condoms and syringes, returned for inspection.
Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has criticized rich countries for sending rubbish abroad.
Brazilian diplomats are to lodge a complaint with the organisation in Geneva, run by the United Nations, which oversees international codes governing the transport of hazardous material.
It is based on the Basel Convention, which bans shipments of toxic waste from industrialised nations, Brazil's foreign ministry said in a statement.
It wants the origin of the containers traced and to find out how they ended up in three Brazilian ports - Santos, near Sao Paulo, and two others in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The Environment Agency said it could not confirm claims the shipping containers held a mixture of household and clinical waste.
It said it plans to search through the rubbish once it has been returned to the UK and ensure it is handled and disposed of properly.
This kind of thing has been going on for quite some time (as reported by Current) by rich nations across the globe. However, most of the waste has been delivered to the poorer of the poor nations. Maybe this slip up, and the resultant complaint to the UN, will bring much needed awareness and punishment.
Environment Agency officers and police in Britain raided three properties in the Swindon area of Wiltshire this week, arresting men aged 24, 28 and 49.
They want 1,400 tonnes of waste from 99 containers, said to include condoms and syringes, returned for inspection.
Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has criticized rich countries for sending rubbish abroad.
Brazilian diplomats are to lodge a complaint with the organisation in Geneva, run by the United Nations, which oversees international codes governing the transport of hazardous material.
It is based on the Basel Convention, which bans shipments of toxic waste from industrialised nations, Brazil's foreign ministry said in a statement.
It wants the origin of the containers traced and to find out how they ended up in three Brazilian ports - Santos, near Sao Paulo, and two others in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The Environment Agency said it could not confirm claims the shipping containers held a mixture of household and clinical waste.
It said it plans to search through the rubbish once it has been returned to the UK and ensure it is handled and disposed of properly.
This kind of thing has been going on for quite some time (as reported by Current) by rich nations across the globe. However, most of the waste has been delivered to the poorer of the poor nations. Maybe this slip up, and the resultant complaint to the UN, will bring much needed awareness and punishment.
