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Scandal with TOXIC waste from 'Kurum'/ Environmentalists criticize the inaction of the authorities, Prosecution: Investigations…

2025-03-04 15:10:26Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Scandal with TOXIC waste from 'Kurum'/ Environmentalists criticize the
CURE

AFP reported that environmentalists in Albania have today denounced the silence of the authorities and the lack of progress in the investigation into toxic waste.

It is reported that environmentalists denounced the complete silence from the government and the apparent lack of any progress on the issue from the latter as well as from the Durrës prosecutor's office.

Environmentalists say they are not sure that samples have been taken and laboratory analyses have begun regarding the case as promised.

Illegal trafficking of hazardous waste is a serious issue that requires criminal sanctions, the organizations added, urging authorities to provide updates.

According to environmentalists, so far all indications show that the waste comes from the Kurum steel factories in Elbasan.

Contacted by AFP, the Durrës prosecutor's office said that "their investigations are continuing with priority," without providing details.

Toxic waste, what is known about its journey?

A total of 102 containers, believed to be filled with suspicious waste, were unloaded at the port of Durres from a Turkish-flagged container ship in November and taken to a "secure location", authorities said.

At the time, the Durrës prosecutor's office said it had launched an investigation into "smuggling of prohibited goods" and "abuse of power", in cooperation with the European Anti-Fraud Office OLAF.

The containers left Albania last July and according to customs documents at the time, their cargo consisted of industrial waste, specifically "iron oxide", the export of which is authorized.

 But information relayed by a whistleblower to the Basel Action Network (BAN) suggested that the shipment actually contained " hazardous pollution waste dust from secondary steel mills ," according to a statement from BAN and environmental NGO Milieukontakt Albania.

Thailand rejected the cargo and it returned to Albania after several months at sea, with stops and changes of ships in various countries, including Spain, Portugal, Italy and Turkey.

Shipping industrial waste from Western countries to be processed elsewhere in the developing world is a global business estimated to be worth between 44 billion and 70 billion euros ($46 billion to $74 billion) a year, according to environmental NGOs.

Full article:

Environmental groups on Tuesday denounced what they called Albanian authorities' silence and lack of progress in an investigation into suspected toxic waste dumped in the Balkan country.

A total of 102 containers, believed to be filled with suspicious waste, were unloaded at the port of Durres from a Turkish-flagged container ship in November and taken to a " secure location ," authorities said.

At the time, the Durrës prosecutor's office said it had launched an investigation into "smuggling of prohibited goods" and "abuse of power", in cooperation with the European Anti-Fraud Office OLAF. The containers left Albania last July and, according to customs documents at the time, their cargo consisted of industrial waste, specifically "iron oxide", the export of which is authorized.

But information relayed by a whistleblower to the Basel Action Network (BAN) suggested that the shipment actually contained "hazardous pollution waste dust from secondary steel mills," according to a statement from BAN and environmental NGO Milieukontakt Albania obtained by AFP.

Both groups denounced "the complete silence from the government and the apparent lack of any progress on the issue by the Albanian government and the Durrës prosecution."

It was planned that the contents of the containers would be sampled and analyzed by independent laboratories, the statement said.

But the groups said: " We are not even sure that samples have been taken and analyses have begun ."

Illegal trafficking of hazardous waste is a serious issue that requires criminal sanctions, the organizations added, urging authorities to provide updates.

Contacted by AFP, the Durrës prosecutor's office said that "their investigations are continuing with priority," without providing details.

Thailand rejected the cargo and it returned to Albania after several months at sea, with stops and ship changes in various countries, including Spain, Portugal, Italy and Turkey. According to environmentalists, all indications so far point to the waste coming from the Kurum steelworks in Elbasan, in central Albania.

Shipping industrial waste from Western countries to be processed elsewhere in the developing world is a global business estimated to be worth between 44 billion and 70 billion euros ($46 billion to $74 billion) a year, according to environmental NGOs.


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