Toxic Sludge Update

Here's an update on the toxic sludge story we talked about a couple of weeks ago:

A Dutch lawyer representing some 1,000 victims of toxic waste dumped in Ivory Coast says he is suing the company that shipped the waste yhere.

Correspondents say other legal teams are preparing cases against the people that handled the waste.

"Trafigura is responsible because they knew what it [the waste] was or they should have known," Dutch lawyer Bob van der Goen told Reuters news agency.

"They should have known that Ivory Coast couldn't process this waste. They should have known the danger for people and the environment."

Journalist Pauline Bax in Abidjan says the lawyer believes this is just a preliminary claim and the real amount will be much higher.