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UNDAC Mission
Port of Djibouti
Toxic chemical spill
March 2002
Djibouti
• Country bordered by Eritrea,
Ethiopia and Somalia.
• Population is approx. 500,000
• The Port is the economic centre of
the country, and the most important
port in the Horn of Africa
The Incident • A chemical spill of chromated copper
arsenate (CCA) from a total of fifteen
sea containers representing 200 tonnes
of product
• CCA is a highly corrosive and toxic
wood preservative / fungicide
• 10 containers arrived in the port on
15 November and discovered leaking
on 9 January
• An additional five leaking containers
arrived on 24 January
Incident Details • Containers shipped from the UK
destined for Ethiopia
• Offloaded from a ship in the port of
Djibouti for subsequent transport to
Ethiopia by road
• Initial efforts to secure the manage the
leak resulted in the contamination of five
separate sites in the port area
• Fortunately, only small quantities of
product were lost to the sea, causing
negligible impacts
Port Area
Humanitarian Concerns - Public Health
• As many as 500 claim to have been
exposed to the product
• There has been at least one death, though
a direct link to chemical exposure has yet
to be established
• Concerns regarding contamination of
foodstuffs and exposure of employees at
WFP warehouse
• Fear about drinking bottled water and
Coca Cola from nearby facility
Environmental Concerns
• Five contaminated sites could result in
groundwater contamination and
impacts to marine environment
• Chronic exposure to dust can cause
longer term health and environmental
impacts
• Rains (which sometimes occur in early
April) will severely widen the area of
impact
Steps Taken
• An FAO expert was brought in to
conduct an assessment in early
February
• Subsequent to the FAO report, the
port authority implemented a number
of recommendations
Steps Taken
As per FAO recommendations:
• Evacuation of all equipment at site 5
(other than trucks and leaking containers)
• Construction of a fence around site 5
• Installation of polyethylene sheeting
covered with sand to cover leak and
contain further leakage at sites 2, 3 and 5
• Construction of steel trays for leaking
containers
The UNDAC Mission
• The mission was organized by OCHA with
support from the Joint UNEP/OCHA
Environmental Emergencies Section
• The team was composed 2 OCHA
Geneva, 1 UNEP staff member (from the
Joint Unit) and 1 member from OCHA field
office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• The team was later joined by a Swiss
ecotoxicology expert
The Role of the Team
• Assess humanitarian impacts from spill
• Follow-up assessments of sites further
to the implementation of the FAO
expert’s recommendations
• Overall coordination in the wake of the
country’s appeal for international
assistance
• Recommendations on immediate
response to the leaking containers and
remediation of contaminated sites
Assessment Process
• Multiple visits to all five sites
• Extensive interviews with the port
management and staff
• Meetings with Djiboutian national
authorities
• Coordination and cooperation with
the UN country team
Port of Djibouti
Findings
• The port had implemented virtually
all FAO recommendations in order
to secure the situation
• Though contained, the product
was still leaking heavily
• In spite of efforts, there was still
widespread panic within the
community with respect to health
risks.
Findings
• Djibouti did not have the technical
expertise to manage the situation beyond
what had been already undertaken
– Consequently, the team requested the
assistance of an ecotoxicologist / waste
management specialist from Geneva to assist
• Sites 1,2&5 - heavy contamination
requiring immediate attention
• Sites 3&4 - stable with some protective
measures recommended
Site 1 - Hazardous Cargo Container Area
Green stains show clear
evidence of contamination
from CCA at site 1 where
containers were stored from
15 November to 9 January
View of
contaminated area
from opposite end
Site 2 - Leaking container area
Staining from
CCA and
contamination
from other
hazardous
chemicals at site 2
Application of sand
to contaminated areas
of site 2
Evidence of
severe contamination
from CCA
Site 2 - Leaking container area
Site 5 - Isolation Zone
Five trucks
containing 10
leaking
containers
Product
creeping from
under plastic
sheeting several
metres away
from trucks
Close up of
leaking product
pooling under
trucks
Site 5 - Isolation Zone
Site 5-Container in Steel Tray
View of one container in a steel tray constructed
by the port to contain the leaking product
Conclusions
• Djibouti has virtually no capacity to
respond to hazardous materials
occurrences
• Port was very proactive in taking
necessary actions to secure the situation.
• Overall lack of prevention, preparedness
and awareness
• Weak disaster management capacity at
local/national level
Conclusions
• Poor risk communications resulting
in continued panic and rumors in the
community
• Several good contingency plans exist
but were not activated
Recommendations
Immediate (as outlined in Action Plan)
• Stop leaks at site 5
• Transfer product to new containers
• Address contamination at sites 1,2 & 5
• Relocate and establish proper leaking
hazardous cargo area - currently site 2
• Establish a destocking zone to
accommodate contaminated waste &
soil
Recommendations
Medium to Long Term
• Decontamination of non-urgent sites
• Contingency plans should be updated,
disseminated and tested
• Need for training and proper equipment
for handling and responding to hazmat
incidents
• Develop a legal framework for handling
and transportation of dangerous goods
with Djibouti
Recommendations
• Update port procedures so that
future leaks are addressed in situ
(preventing contamination of
multiples sites)
• Routine inspection of hazardous
cargo area at port for early
identification of leaks
Needs Covered
• Protective equipment (Canton de
Genève)
• Antidotes for for arsenic poisoning
(Hôpital Cantonal de Genève)
• Construction of destocking zone
for contaminated soil and waste
(UNDP/OCHA)
Needs Still to be Covered
• Expert Hazmat team (with
appropriate personal protective
equipment) for transfer operations.
• Overpack drums to accommodate
leaking containers.