SOMALIA: The United Nations is investigating reports that hundreds of people living along the Somali coastline have suffered mystery illnesses in the wake of December's tsunami, writes Rob Crily
A preliminary report, based on eyewitness accounts, says toxic waste containers dumped illegally along the coast were broken open by the huge waves that battered countries around the Indian Ocean.
The United Nations Environment Programme said this week it was preparing to send inspectors to the war-torn country to assess the scale of the problem.
An estimated 300 Somalis were killed by the initial impact of the tidal waves.
Nick Nuttall, speaking from the UN programme's Nairobi headquarters, said: "Now we have reports of hazardous waste - including radioactive materials - being broken up by the tsunami.
"It was stored in containers and barrels, and it appears from UN staff who have been there that toxic chemicals have got out into the soil.
"We also have reports from people living in fishing villages along the coast that they have been suffering a whole variety of ailments - from mouth bleeds, nasty respiratory diseases and skin disorders to abdominal haemorrhages - since the tsunami hit."
In a preliminary study, the UN says international companies have been dumping waste along the Somali coast - often illegally - since the 1980s.
The dumped materials include radioactive waste, heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury, as well as toxic waste from hospitals and industry.
Barrels were simply dumped along the coastline, leaving them vulnerable to damage.
The absence of detailed records and a 14-year civil war has made the task of monitoring the waste all but impossible.
The worst affected areas are in northern Somalia, where the tsunami caused greatest devastation, leaving 18,000 households in need of urgent assistance.
Toxic chemicals are believed to have leaked into groundwater, contaminating wells that have also been flooded with seawater since the tsunami.
Mr Nuttall said the UN programme was meeting the Somali transitional government, based in Nairobi, to discuss how soon a monitoring team could travel to the region.
Much of the country remains in the hands of rival warlords, making travel dangerous.
"Our information so far is very preliminary. We need to find out how many people are affected, exactly which areas have problems, try to find out whether coastal waters are polluted and what implications that might have for the marine environment," said Mr Nuttall. If the waste was in coastal waters, the programme needed "to establish whether ocean currents could carry it further afield".