by Geoffrey Bennett

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Last fall we brought you the story of a tragic dumping case in Ivory Coast.

The Dutch-based oil trading company, Trafigura, had allegedly tried to sidestep environmental regulations in the in the West African nation, dumping tons of toxic sludge near the nation's commercial capital.

 

Sixteen people died from the dumping and thousands more were made sick. Since then, Trafigura has agreed to pay $198 million in victim compensation, though it admits no wrong-doing.

Now the government of Ivory Coast says it will seek more money from the oil giant. It wants to cover additional medical and clean-up costs. The price tag could top half a billion dollars.