Simone Müller (Augsburg): The Toxic Ship. The Voyage of the Khian Sea and the Global Waste Trade

Zeit: 18 - 20 Uhr | Online

Sechster und finaler Vortrag im Berlin-Brandenburger Colloquium für Umweltgeschichte (BBC) im Wintersemester 2023/24
Veranstalter: ZZF Potsdam

Simone Müller (Augsburg):
The Toxic Ship. The Voyage of the Khian Sea and the Global Waste Trade
 

In 1986 the Khian Sea, carrying thousands of tons of incinerator ash from Philadelphia, began a two-year journey, roaming the world's oceans in search of a dumping ground. Its initial destination and then country after country refused to accept the waste. The ship ended up dumping part of its load in Haiti under false pretenses, and the remaining waste was illegally dumped in the ocean. Two shipping company officials eventually received criminal convictions.
In her talk Simone MüllerI use the Khian Sea's voyage as a lens to elucidate the global trade in hazardous waste - the movement of material ranging from outdated consumer products and pesticides to barges filled with all sorts of toxic discards - from the 1970s to the present day, exploring the story's international nodes and detailing the downside of environmental conscientiousness among industrial nations as waste is pushed outward. She also highlight the significance of the trip's start in Philadelphia, a city with a significant African American population. The geographical origins shed light on environmental racism within the United States in the context of the global story of environmental justice. Activism in response to the ship's journey set an important precedent, and this book brings together the many voices that shaped the international trade in hazardous waste.

Simone M. Müller is Heisenberg Professor for Global Environmental History and Environmental Humanities at the University of Augsburg. She is author of Wiring the World: The Social and Cultural Creation of Global Telegraph Networks. Her work is situated at the intersection of ecology and economy with a particular focus on globalization processes and the era of the Anthropocene. Müller has received numerous awards and fellowships, among them from the Smithsonian Institutions, the Science History Institute, and the University of Pennsylvania.