"SPAK to start investigations as soon as possible", DP: Institutions should take measures to secure 800 tons of toxic waste returning to Albania!

The member of the National Council of DP, Fjoralba Dizdari, in a statement to the media, requested that the institutions take measures for the toxic waste that is being returned to Albania.

She stated that the government does not answer the questions of the opposition and public opinion regarding the issue, while accusing that " certain segments of the state administration are trying to distract the attention, not only of the general public, by placing the blame both inside and outside the country , while Albania is being accused in the international arena".

Dizdari called on SPAK to start investigations, as he said that " fraud with the labels of these dangerous materials within the premises of an institution of special importance adds to the uncertainty of Albanians about the goods they consume in their daily life. Albanian citizens are now the most vulnerable in Europe and the region".

"800 tons of toxic waste originating from the Port of Durrës and destined for Southeast Asia, are being returned to Albania as they are suspected to be highly hazardous waste". Although more than three weeks have passed, the government is still not answering a number of questions from the opposition and public opinion:

What is the origin of these wastes, where did they come from?

Does the Ministry of Tourism and Environment supervise installations that produce hazardous waste and how this waste is processed or deposited?

Does the Ministry of Tourism and Environment supervise the transfer of these wastes in accordance with the law "On the transportation of dangerous goods"?

The control bodies defined in the law have inspected "Sokolaj" Sh.pk, which carries out activities in this field, and what have they reported in the annual report submitted to this ministry?

How is it possible that heavy tonnage trucks transport hundreds of tons of hazardous material without the relevant certificates and the State Police do not notice them?

How is it possible that hundreds of tons of toxic waste are deposited, packed in an institution of special importance and, without checking the labels for the type of waste, loaded on ships?

Does the Customs of the port of Durres know anything about the cargo of the same type that went from Durres to China in April? As for other cargoes, since the Basel Action Network (BAN) organization, based in the USA, claims that from this port, every three or four months, a similar cargo of poisonous powder, otherwise known as 'EAF', has been exported. and coming out of the chimneys of metallurgical factories.

Non-functioning of state agencies by openly allowing in violation of the law "On Integrated Waste Management) or other acts issued in its implementation, (which clearly define the method of transportation of these items) the undisturbed transportation and storage of this dangerous substances, in the Port of Durres has violated "National Security".

Meanwhile, fraud with the labels of these dangerous materials within the premises of an institution of special importance adds to the uncertainty of Albanians about the goods they consume in their daily life. Albanian citizens are now the most vulnerable in Europe and the region.

The Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Port of Durrës, the National Information Service, the State Police, the Customs Directorate, no one has an answer to this issue.

Already, certain segments of the state administration are trying to distract the attention, not only of the general public, by placing the blame both inside and outside the country, while Albania is being accused in the international arena.

We call on the institutions to take measures for the provision of hazardous waste naturally deposited in the eastern quay, as ships that transport packaged or non-packaged food items (Refuge wheat) are processed in this port and may be contaminated by the natural deposit of these wastes.

In the Port of Durrës, thousands of local or foreign tourists who have chosen our place to rest pass every day, and the natural state of this dangerous substance contaminates the environment, which in turn severely damages the health of tourists or residents living in the city of Durrës .

Also, the precipitation of this substance from contact with atmospheric agents (rain, dew) contaminates the waters that pass near this deposit site (the Sea) while we are in the middle of the tourist season and the city of Durrës is full of tourists who bathe nearby of this port.

PD encourages and supports the investigation of the European Office against Economic Fraud (OLAF), the Basel Action Network, and wishes that the investigation launched by the Durrës Judicial District Prosecutor's Office will make transparent what is happening in the Albanian territory, with the cases of these wastes.

We call on SPAK to start the investigations as soon as possible.