Sweden’s Waste: The Other Chemical Weapon?

“The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men” – Robert Burns

Attacks on a country are not only made by soldiers and missiles. Chemical waste can itself be a weapon, a slow ticking bomb.

Unlike peace deals made between superpowers of the past, US and USSR, to decrease their arsenal, present day Weapons of Chemical Waste (WCW) are reportedly causing harm to humans resulting in Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) laid out by businessmen, facilitated by governments.

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) stipulates no prohibition uniformingly against nuclear weapons, except for chemical weapons. Still, given their intended purpose, created to induce harm or death, these chemical weapons are branded weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

Nuclear reactor plants reportedly lay abandoned or sealed forever as that of Russia’s Chernobyl. But nuclear disasters leave their dark lethal mark. To conceal it, a “sarcophagus” structure encased the Chernobyl reactor.

Will underground repositories be “a long-term sustainable solution for managing” chemical waste? If not, will your country fall victim to waste dumping, Where “Children of Men” Play: Swedish “Poisonous Wastes” Dumping Site in Chile.

Weapons of Chemical Waste (WCW) may not necessarily have the instantaneous impact of a bomb or drone. No, their effect can take time, sometimes years, keeping its diffusion hidden making it deadlier. And just like rats on a sinking ship, those that dump WCW swim away.

Like the business of exchanging nuclear weapons, the business of importing/exporting waste occurs around the world. (i.e. Plastics from the Americas to Asia). The art of outsourcing and subcontracting cheap labor (i.e. West use of Chinese and Indian forced labor) and deferring health risk responsibility is an international benchmark.

And what doesn’t immediately kill you, makes them stronger and $. See, the use of “trade” between countries facilitates the ride on a “legalized” ship. Take the port city of Arica in Chile. Bolivia certainly has a vested interest especially in the use of the port as the endpoint of its oil pipeline.

As every ship has a destination, so too companies have a goal. But some fall short of reaching it.

Swedish company Boliden’s website states, “Purpose, vision and values, Guided by Care, Courage and Responsibility we set out towards our vision.” Really? How far did you set your sails from your land? Ask the residents of Arica in Chile if they believe Boliden you reached it.

Seems ironic and unfair that Chile would be targeted with Weapons of Chemical Waste given that Chile signed the UN treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017.

One Bastard’s Waste is another’s Value?

Recall, “Boliden Rönnskär creates value by minimizing waste…develops its own methods for waste disposal. The smelting plant at Odda disposes waste…Underground storage is a long-term, sustainable solution for final disposal of smelter waste.”

Under heading “Safe and sound underground” we find that “below the surface at the Boliden Rönnskär smelter. It is here where process waste from the plant will be stored indefinitely.”

Why? “…Boliden made the decision to place all process waste from the smelter in the repository…Environmental legislation focuses on mercury; if waste contains more than 0.1%, it must be stored in a deep underground repository. However, only a small part of Rönnskär’s waste contains mercury…

Metals? “Since there are precious metals in the residues – surely it would be wasteful not to try to extract them first…During fall 2021 a stabilization plant will be erected, where certain waste will be pre-treated before placed in the repository…the underground repository is a long-term sustainable solution for managing Rönnskär’s residual process waste…”

Does “Intent Follow the Bullet” or Chemical Weapon?

According to OPCW “A toxic or precursor chemical may be defined as a chemical weapon depending on its intended purpose.”

Unlike bioweapons, supported by science’s pursuit of progress for mankind and military industrial complex made to kill men, chemical waste is seen by some industries as “material of negative value.”

Seemingly inoffensive and invaluable, but access these “material” using the periodic table of chemical elements (e.g. Arsenic, 33 As) and you’d be sure to find valuable readings with levels that will make your head spin. 

Additionally, the argument can be made that “waste” can be used as “Any chemical intended for chemical weapons purposes…” Moreover, “Munitions, devices and other equipment specifically designed to weaponise toxic chemicals also fall under the definition of chemical weapons.”

What of waste dumped on foreign land? It still holds, “… regardless of their origin or of their method of production, and regardless of whether they are produced in facilities, in munitions or elsewhere’”

Furthermore, classification reads “Toxic chemicals are defined as ‘any chemical which through its chemical action on life processes can cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals’.

Transport? “Munitions and devices intended for the delivery of toxic chemicals.”

Foreign country where waste was dumped can produce physical evidence. Note, “A toxic chemical held by a State Party in agreement with the “Principle of Consistency” must be produced, stockpiled or used for a legitimate purpose…”

Russia’s Red House appears to pose a risk of war to those living in the past or a fantasy as reported by the Ukraine leader. But US may wish to rethink and look at other chemically weaponized “Red Houses.”

Or waste and “material of negative value” will continue to be dumped on their land and ports. Sweden’s Red House: The Beginnings of Green and Bullshit?

Chile, Feliz Año Nuevo, Hermanos y Hermanas!!!