Dutch court fines Trafigura over Ivory Coast waste

The judge hearing the case said Trafigura was fined because it did what European regulations on toxic waste aimed to prevent, "namely the export of waste to the Third World and harming the environment."

Trafigura said in a statement it would study the ruling with a view to filing an appeal.

"While Trafigura is pleased to have been acquitted of the charge of forgery it is disappointed by the judge's ruling on the other two, which it believes to be incorrect," it said.

"Concerning the delivery of dangerous goods it is important that the court has noted that there was limited risk to human health from these slops, and indeed no damage occurred in Amsterdam," it added.

Trafigura -- which has made settlements to prevent or end court proceedings in Ivory Coast and Britain -- had chartered the ship Probo Koala, which wanted to dispose of hundreds of tonnes of chemical slops in Amsterdam in July 2006.

The ship decided against the cleanup in Amsterdam after being told it would have to pay the clean-up costs.

About a month later, the material was dumped in the Ivorian economic capital Abidjan after Trafigura hired a local company to dispose of the waste. Thousands of residents of the city complained of illnesses.

The government of Ivory Coast said 16 people died.