During the night, a Panamanian flagged ship with Russian crew began unloading its cargo holds of wastes onto the docks of the Autonomous Port. According to Dutch authorities, the ship had cancelled the unloading of its oily black sludge in July due to complaints about their toxicity and then set sail for Estonia. With the authorisation of the competent authorities, a special company unloaded the 528 tons of toxic waste at 17 sites, with the majority being unloaded. According to the affreighter, the wastes were a mixture of fuel oil, water and caustic soda used to clean the holds. According to other sources, the waste contained H2S, mercaptans, phenols and organochlorine compounds or petroleum refining sludge. The presence of petroleum derivatives was confirmed by the detection of methyl mercaptan and phenols, both of which are derived from the refining process. Subsequent analyses showed that the drinking waster was not polluted, although extensive measures were taken to protect drinking water supply sites and safety perimeters were set up around waste disposal sites. The hospitals recorded more than 100,000 consultations, roughly ten thousand intoxications, 69 hospitalisations and 10 deaths including 4 children. Patients suffered from headaches, nosebleeds, vomiting and cutaneous eruptions… The population expressed its dissatisfaction for several days. The government spokesperson announced that intoxicated individuals would be cared for free of charge in the capital’s 32 heath centres and requested technical assistance from other countries. A French civil defence team was dispatched with 500 kg of analysis equipment to assist the authorities with the short and long term action to be taken to protect the populations. As the waste disposal sites were closed, piles of nauseating refuse accumulated throughout the city. The government decided to close the market gardens located near polluted sites and the fishponds in which numerous fish had died. According to the Dutch press, between May and June, 70,000 tons of crude oil had been transformed into gasoline on the ship: 72 t of sulphur-containing wastes were thus produced. 18 people were charged with poisoning and violation of toxic waste legislation. A French group was designated to treat the polluted sites: it was estimated that 2 months would be required for soil excavation and the pumping of leachates into special tanker trucks. The wastes collected and stored in a secured warehouse were then transported to specialised installations in France. The cost of decontamination was 30 M euros. 9,300 t of waste were treated from may 2007 but several thousands remained. After a settlement with the Ivorian government in February 2007, the charterer of the ship paid FCFA 100 billion (Euro 1525 million) compensation.