Armed Vessel Stops GP Approaching Tunis T.Waste Site

[The.Greenbase@gb.greenpeace.org]

>> ARMED VESSEL PREVENTS GREENPEACE FROM APPROACHING TUNISIAN


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                    GREENPEACE PRESS RELEASE
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>> ARMED VESSEL PREVENTS GREENPEACE FROM APPROACHING TUNISIAN
TOXIC POLLUTION SOURCE

GABES, Tunisia, 22 May 1995 (GP)  An armed vessel from the
Tunisian Guarde Nationale intercepted the MV Greenpeace this
morning at 5:30 a.m. four miles off the industrial installations
in Ghannouch, Gulf of Gabes. The officer on board said he
received instructions to prevent the MV Greenpeace from
approaching Ghannouch.

"Representatives from several Tunisian environmental groups
joined Greenpeace on this tour," said Wahid Labidi, Toxics
campaigner for Greenpeace Tunisia on the MV Greenpeace. "Our
visit to Ghannouch was announced in the Tunisian media, and four
ministers were informed by letter well in advance. Today we have
been informed that Ghannouch is a forbidden area for Greenpeace
and Tunisian environmentalists and that the army was authorized
to use any means to stop us from approaching the toxic source. We
want to know what the companies and the government are
hiding."

The state-owned companies SIAPE (Societe' des Industries d'Acide
Phosphoriques et d'Engrais) and SAEPA (Societe' Arabe des Engrais
Phosphates et Azotes) based in Ghannouch, pump about 13,000
tons/day of phosphogypsum in the water of the Gulf of Gabes.
Phosphogypsum is an acidic by-product from the phosphate
fertilizers industry. Over the past 25 years 60 millions tonnes
of phosphogypsum have been discharged at sea.

"The waters of the Gulf of Gabes have been turned into a warm,
toxic soup of heavy metals as the phosphogypsum is highly dense
and contains high levels of cadmium, mercury and zinc," said
Wahid Labidi.

According to scientific research carried out by the University of
Tunis, since the early 1970s, 675 tonnes of zinc, 98 tonnes of
copper, 11.3 tonnes of lead and 620 tonnes of cadmium have been
dumped in the Gulf of Gabes by the Gannouch fertilizer complex.

Samples taken by Greenpeace in 1995 showed a cadmium
concentration in the waste waters discharged by the chemical
complex 16 times higher than the maximum allowed by Tunisian
legislation.

Cadmium is known to be carcinogenic. It can also effect the
reproductive system. Lead and copper are also acutely toxic.
Tunisia, along with all the Mediterranean countries, is a
contracting party to the Barcelona Convention for the protection
of the Mediterranean Sea. In 1993 all the Mediterranean nations
agreed to phase-out by the year 2005 inputs to the marine
environment of toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative substances.
To that end, it is necessary to amend the Protocol concerning the
land based sources of pollution of the Mediterranean Sea (LBS
Protocol).

In June 1995 The Mediterranean countries celebrate the 20th
anniversary of the Barcelona Convention. It is imperative that
the Mediterranean nations - which will be called to decide upon
the future of the Mediterranean Sea - agree to concrete actions
and binding measures to eliminate by the year 2005 the inputs of
toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative substances into the
Mediterranean Sea.

"Greenpeace was told that Tunisia would play a more active role
in pursuing the goals of eliminating pollution sources into the
Mediterranean Sea. We did not known, however, that this policy
would include the use of armed vessels to prevent Greenpeace and
Tunisian environmentalists from bearing witness of the toxic
pollution of the Gulf of Gabes," concluded Wahid Labidi.

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Contact:
Wahid Labidi, Greenpeace Tunisia: ++216-188-1637