MUA opposes toxic ship

The Maritime Union of Australia National Secretary and President of the International Transport Workers' Federation, Paddy Crumlin, has congratulated the Danish Government for refusing to accept toxic waste shipments from Australia after unions repeatedly voiced concern over the plan.

Mr Crumlin said the Danish decision was a victory for common sense over the scheme to load the hazardous chemical waste from the Orica site at Port Botany and ship it for disposal in Denmark.

"The first shipment of this toxic waste was due to leave tomorrow, so we would like to thank all of the unions involved who lobbied hard for this outcome," he said.

On behalf of the drivers at the Australian end of the operation, State Secretary of the Transport Workers Union, Wayne Forno, said: "Ensuring that risk assessment is carried out on the driving route and risks associated with it for our drivers, we support the MUA in totality."

Mr Crumlin added: "There needs to be a long term solution thought out for this issue. It is not good enough to ship hazardous chemical waste around the globe - there are enormous risks involved."

Mr Crumlin also said Orica had confirmed that it would be required to accept the return of the waste if it was not destroyed for any reason.

He said the Beluga Fascination, currently berthed at Port Botany, had been chartered to transport the waste to Denmark.