VOA标准英语2009年-Greenpeace Seeks Criminal Charges in Ivory

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
17 September 2009

The environmental group Greenpeace says it wants Dutch prosecutors¹ to consider criminal charges against executives from international oil trading company Trafigura in connection with toxic² waste dumped in Ivory Coast in 2006.  Wednesday, Trafigura announced it would offer compensation to thousands of victims of the toxic dumping, which is blamed for the deaths of at least 15 people.

 
A man points to an open drain where toxic waste was dumped, in an industrial zone of Abidjan
Greenpeace says it has new evidence, including internal e-mails and documents, suggesting Trafigura executives knew sludge dumped in Ivory Coast in 2006 was dangerous.

The sludge had been on a ship called Probo Koala, which had been chartered by Trafigura.  An Ivorian company contracted by Trafigura dumped the waste illegally near Abidjan.

Toxic-waste campaigner for Greenpeace Netherlands, Marietta Harjono, says the environmental group wants Dutch prosecutors to consider criminal charges against Trafigura executives.

"The new information we have collected together with a group of people shows that the director of Trafigura as well as several employees knew for a long time that the waste they would be producing on the Probo Koala would be very toxic," she said.  "They also knew that this waste was forbidden to be exported from Europe to an African country. They also knew there were only a few facilities that could handle the waste in a proper way.  But even with all this knowledge, they decided³ to circumvent⁴ the law and to go ahead and dump the toxic waste in a poor country."

The waste was blamed for the deaths of at least 15 people, while tens of thousands of others were apparently⁵ sickened by it.

Trafigura has denied doing anything wrong, a stance it has maintained following these latest allegations.  But it said Wednesday it would offer compensation to more than 30,000 victims of the Abidjan dumping.

Harjono says if the Dutch justice system accepts to hear the case, Greenpeace hopes it will set a precedent⁶ to ensure other companies are prosecuted⁷ for dumping hazardous⁸ waste.

1 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

2 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 circumvent   

vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜

参考例句：

• Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
• Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

7 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

8 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。