Somali Pirates Protecting Against Hazardous Waste from Europe???

If true, this is one of the most shocking stories I've seen for a while. From HuffPo:

Who imagined that in 2009, the world's governments would be declaring a new War on Pirates? As you read this, the British Royal Navy - backed by the ships of more than two dozen nations, from the US to China - is sailing into Somalian waters to take on men we still picture as parrot-on-the-shoulder pantomime villains. They will soon be fighting Somalian ships and even chasing the pirates onto land, into one of the most broken countries on earth.

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In 1991, the government of Somalia . . . collapsed. Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since -- and many of the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country's food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas. Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. . . . People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died. . . . Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to "dispose" of cheaply.

The author claims Somali "pirates" started out as fishermen trying to protect their shores and fishing grounds. See also this report from AFP and this from Common Dreams -- apparently this or something like it has been going on for a long time.