[1] In 1992, 'toxic colonialism' was a phrase coined by Jim Puckett of Greenpeace for the dumping of the industrial wastes of the West on territories of the Third World.
[3] In the US, the term may also be applied to exploitation of Native American reservations, where differing environment regulations allow the land to be more easily used for dump sites.
History shows that the overall impact of the toxic waste dumping in these nations has been devastating and has severely compromised all aspects of human health.
In a case study for the 2010 Geneva Convention, Bashir Mohamed Hussein, PhD details one account of toxic and radioactive waste dumping in Somalia and its effects, "UNEP...reported that the people were complaining of unusual health problems including "acute respiratory infections, heavy dry coughing, mouth bleeding, abdominal hemorrhage and unusual chemical skin reaction...Likewise, both Somali and non-Somali medical doctors working in Somalia have reported an excessive incidence of cancer, unknown diseases, spontaneous miscarriages of the pregnant women and child malformation.
As developing nations seek to boost economic growth, the enforcement of the few hazardous waste regulations in place often fall by the wayside.
[6] Despite this, "developed countries generally have increasingly stringent environmental regulations governing the domestic disposal of hazardous wastes.