Press TV
June 15, 2010
The United States will be leaving a toxic brew of hazardous waste behind when US forces withdraw from Iraq, a new report says.
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
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On Monday, The Times of London said that companies from the United States are selling local Iraqi scrap dealers a cocktail of toxic material and ordinary waste.
The waste is being disposed of locally instead of being returned for treatment or shipped to Iraq-based factories which specialize in disposal.
The US Defense Department has taken account of “an estimated 11 million pounds of hazardous waste,” including engine oil, acid containers, and discarded batteries generated by US troops, the report added.
At the same time, related skin diseases have begun to pop up among civilians.
“By the time we see this stuff, it is too late,” said scrap dealer Abu Saif, who added that several workers at his scrap yard and others had been injured by contacting scrap material.
“When they poured out what’s in these jerry cans, they started coughing,” said another yard owner. “Some got rashes and many quit work. So when I get this kind of material, now I bury it somewhere far away.”
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