The illegal transboundary shipment, dumping or disposal of hazardous or toxic waste, such as electronic waste, industrial chemical byproducts or medical waste, typically moved from a country with strict and costly disposal regulations to one with weaker enforcement, where it is dumped with little or no safe treatment. It is addressed internationally under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal of 1989, which requires exporting countries to obtain the prior informed consent of an importing country before shipping hazardous waste across a border, and violations of its national implementing legislation are prosecuted as environmental crimes in the countries that have adopted it. The practice has caused documented public health and environmental harm in a number of receiving communities, particularly from improperly processed electronic waste and industrial byproducts dumped or burned without protective controls.
Facts
Classification CodeIn the United States, prosecuted under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. 6928(d), criminal penalties for illegal transport, treatment, storage or disposal of hazardous waste 1 Typical PenaltyIn the United States, up to a $50,000 fine per day of violation and up to 2 years imprisonment (5 years for the most serious violations), doubled for repeat offenders 1 Elements of OffenseMovement of hazardous waste across national boundaries requires notice, prior informed consent and tracking under the Basel Convention 2 Notable ExampleThe 2006 Probo Koala scandal, in which Trafigura-chartered toxic waste was dumped in Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Trafigura agreed to pay 198 million dollars to the Ivorian government for cleanup without admitting wrongdoing 3 Jurisdiction VariationThe Basel Convention itself has no enforcement provisions, so its practical force depends on how each country implements it domestically 2 Classification
Offense GradeSerious or Indictable Offense 1 Connections
Sources
1. 42 U.S.C. 6928, Federal enforcement, RCRA (Cornell LII)
42 U.S.C. section 6928(d) (classification)
shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $50,000 for each day of violation, or imprisonment not to exceed two years (five years in the case of a violation of paragraph (1) or (2)), or both.
42 U.S.C. section 6928(d) (penalty)
shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $50,000 for each day of violation, or imprisonment not to exceed two years (five years in the case of a violation of paragraph (1) or (2)), or both.
In Group: Pollution and Discharge Offenses, Statute text
Any person who knowingly transports, treats, stores, disposes of, or exports any hazardous waste identified or listed under this subchapter or used oil not identified or listed as a hazardous waste under this subchapter in violation of paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (7) of subsection (d) of this section who knows at that time that he thereby places another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury , shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $250,000 or imprisonment for not more than fifteen years, or both.
View the Source2. Basel Convention (Wikipedia)
Prior Informed Consent section
In addition to conditions on the import and export of the above wastes, there are stringent requirements for notice, consent and tracking for movement of wastes across national boundaries.
Enforcement section
The convention states that illegal hazardous waste traffic is criminal but contains no enforcement provisions.
View the Source3. Trafigura (Wikipedia)
Probo Koala scandal sectionQuote, Probo Koala scandal section
The company agreed to pay US$198 million to the Ivorian government for the cleanup without admitting wrongdoing.
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