SEBI ALLA
In a joint statement in August 2024, Mirela Kumbaro of the Environment and Belinda Balluku of Infrastructure and Energy “assured” citizens that state institutions had strictly followed the protocols and the law and that there was no room for panic over the news published about the ship with 2,800 tons of suspected toxic waste, departing from the Port of Durrës. A year and a half later, the situation is more than alarming. After conducting analyses in a specialized laboratory in Italy, it was concluded that the waste is dangerous and harmful to people and the environment. In addition to the “Kurum” company producing this waste and the “Sokolaj sh.pk” company transporting it, the Durrës Prosecutor’s Office has also held three state institutions responsible for violations of the law and environmental protocols.
Statements
The first signal that tons of hazardous waste were hidden on the ship “Molivia” that departed from Albania on July 4, 2024 through the Port of Durrës was raised by the international environmental organization BAN. In the position of the two ministries, on August 24, 2024, the issue was relativized and the public was given “assurance” that the institutions were at the required level. “The Albanian environmental, port and customs authorities have been operating for years with strict protocols regarding authorizations for the processing and transport of dangerous goods, in accordance with the relevant international conventions,” the announcement said, while the position continued with “assessments” for the Albanian institutions. “… Furthermore, this readiness of our critical infrastructures has been verified and certified in several international inspections over the past few years, classifying Albania as a safe country,” the joint statement said .
Expert
Environmental expert, chemical engineer, Ahmet Ahmeti, in a statement for Faktoje.al confirms the dangerous nature of the waste and suggests as an immediate solution their removal from Porto Romano. “The material in the packaging collected in storage in Porto Romano in the vicinity of about 200 m from the citizens’ homes, because it is classified as highly poisonous (toxic), should be removed as soon as possible to safe places,” says Ahmeti. He suggests that strict rules are needed for the waste removal process to avoid potential disasters that endanger the environment, groundwater, soil, air, human and animal health. “They contain zinc, cadmium, lead, copper, chromium, nickel, etc., heavy metals with dangerous consequences that cause diseases in all tissues of the body, up to cancerous and genetic ones,” says Ahmeti.
Investigations and measures
The Durrës Prosecution Office, after lengthy investigations, sequestration of documentation and evidence, concluded that 33 people were responsible for the export of hazardous waste, which departed from Durrës to Thailand, but were returned to Durrës after no country accepted the cargo. Of the 33 arrest warrants issued by the Durrës Prosecution Office, only 20 of them were executed, while the Court decided to ease the security measure for state officials. For eight suspects, mainly representatives of the companies “Kurum” and “Sokolaj sh.pk”, the measure “prison arrest” was left in force, for five others “house arrest”, while for seven state officials accused of “abuse of office” the measure was eased to “compulsory appearance” and a ban on leaving the country”, from the measure “house arrest” that had been imposed previously.
Conclusion
The prosecution’s investigations and the analysis response confirmed that 2,800 tons of waste placed in 102 containers are hazardous and that state institutions for analyzing, monitoring and verifying documentation have violated the law and environmental protocols. We will consider the statements of the two ministers of the time, Mirela Kumbaro and Belinda Balluku, that the sewage institutions had meticulously implemented the law, untrue.