Trafigura is heavily involved in trading toxic diesel to Africa. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, unanimously adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011 as a “global standard of expected conduct for all business enterprises wherever they operate”, leave no doubt that the corporate responsibility to respect human rights “exists over and above compliance with national laws and regulations”. Because of dirty fuels, African countries will face a major health crisis. As urban areas and the number of cars continue to grow steadily, any improvement in air quality must start with the adoption of tighter standards for diesel and gasoline. Without low-sulphur fuels, emission control technologies in vehicles simply do not operate. As a result, illnesses and deaths because of traffic-related air pollution will dramatically increase across the continent. By moving to ultra-low sulphur diesel, however, Africa could prevent 25,000 premature deaths in 2030 and almost 100,000 premature deaths in 2050. This is to say nothing of the millions more people who could be protected from a wide-range of respiratory diseases. Nor does this take into account the health damaging effects of the high levels of aromatics and benzene in fuels.

Waste dumping in the Ivory Coast The 2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump was a health crisis caused by a Trafigura-chartered ship offloading waste in the Ivorian Capiotal Abidjan, in order to avoid the surcharge on dumping fees Amsterdam Port Services had imposed to discourage waste disposal there in response to local complaints about smell. A local contractor dumped the toxic waste at as many as 12 sites in and around the city of Abidjan in August 2006. The gas caused by the release of these chemicals is blamed by the UN and the government of Côte d'Ivoire for the deaths of 17 and the injury of over 30,000 Ivorians, with injuries that ranged from mild headaches to severe burns of skin and lungs. Almost 100,000 Ivorians sought medical attention for the effects of these chemicals.

Trafigura claimed the substance it dumped was "slops", or waste water from washing the Probo Koala's tanks. An inquiry in the Netherlands, in late 2006, revealed the substance to be more than 500 tonnes of a mixed of fuel, hydrogen sulfide, and sodium hydroxide, known as caustic soda. Trafigura chose not to pay a EUR 1,000 per cubic metre disposal charge at the port of Amsterdam. The Probo Koala was turned away by several countries before offloading the toxic waste at the Port of Abidjan.

Trafigura denied any waste was transported from the Netherlands, saying that the substances contained only tiny amounts of hydrogen sulfide, and that the company did not know the substance was to be disposed of improperly. In early 2007, the company paid USD 198 million for cleanup to the Ivorian government without admitting wrongdoing, and the Ivorian government pledged not to prosecute the company.

In 2008 a civil lawsuit in London was launched by almost 30,000 Ivorians against Trafigura. In May 2009 Trafigura announced it would sue the BBC for libel after its Newsnight program alleged the company had knowingly sought to cover up its role in the incident. In September 2009 The Guardian obtained and published internal Trafigura emails showing that the traders responsible knew how dangerous the chemicals were. Shortly afterwards Trafigura offered an unnamed settlement figure to the class action suit against it. In 2010 a Dutch court found Trafigura guilty of illegally exporting toxic waste from Amsterdam.

In 2016 a new massive claim against Trafigura, on behalf of ‘Victimes des Déchets Toxiques Côte d’Ivoire’, a cooperation of 25 victim organisations, is being prepared in Amsterdam by Beer Advocaten. It concerns a possible 70,000 people who are registered as victims or as affected by the waiste dumping in 2006 in the Ivory Coast.

Chemical explosion in Norway On 24 May 2007 an explosion occurred in Sløvåg Gulen, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway in a tank owned by Vest Tank, that had severe environmental and health consequences for people living nearby. In 2008 the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation published the 50 min documentary "Dirty Cargo" disclosing what had happened in the small community prior to the explosion. The company Vest Tank was trying to neutralize the same kind of chemical waste that was dumped in Côte d'Ivoire when the explosion occurred. The owner of the waste was Trafigura, on whose behalf Vest Tank was working.

Trade of toxic diesel to Africa In 2016, the Swiss non-governmental organisation Public Eye published the results of its report Dirty Diesel showing how traders, especially Trafigura, prepare and sell "African quality" toxic fuel to Africa, with high levels of sulphur causing particulate matter pollution harming people's health.