Hazardous pharmaceutical waste in the bed of the Kir river/ Ping-pong institutions for those responsible

2024-03-11 22:34:00, Denoncim CNA

Hazardous pharmaceutical waste in the bed of the Kir river/ Ping-pong

"Fiks Fare" reported tonight that dangerous pharmaceutical waste was dumped near the Kir riverbed, near the martyrs' cemetery in Shkodër.

With dozens of boxes of Vitamin C 500 mg in the form of tablets, which have a production year of January 2021 and an expiration date of December 2022.

Boxes of expired vitamins were dumped in a ruined building near the Kir River, which were then scattered on the riverbed by atmospheric conditions or animals. For two weeks, these pharmaceutical wastes have been scattered in this area and on the river bed, but no one has taken measures to remove or dispose of them.

Hazardous pharmaceutical waste in the bed of the Kir river/ Ping-pong

The problem was detected by the institutions in the middle of February, when the residents themselves raised the alarm, but until today nothing has been done and nothing is known about the perpetrators.

Fix saw closely these boxes of pharmaceutical waste, which were located on the surface of the earth. It clearly read the importing company, the lot number, the address and the date when it was put on the market and when it expired.

When asked by Fiksi, the residents said that they have had many problems regarding the waste that is deposited there, where they were initially inert and now dangerous pharmaceutical waste. " We are afraid for the children and ourselves because it is not normal to be thrown here and like that ," one of them claims.

Hazardous pharmaceutical waste in the bed of the Kir river/ Ping-pong

After seeing the situation in the country and the duration of these wastes in the bed of the Kir River, Fiksi became interested in the institutions in turn, which place the responsibility on each other.

In the Rrethinat Administrative Unit, administrator Gerald Hasaj told "Fiks Fare" that the unit has been informed for two weeks and is working to solve the problem. He explains how units have the task of verifying on the ground and conveying the problem to Shkodër Municipality, which they have done.

Even Shkodër Municipality claims that it has carried out verifications in the field and has started investigations to find the offenders. The municipality has alerted institutions such as the National Inspectorate of Territory Protection, as this case is classified as an environmental crime. The Lezhë Regional Environmental Protection Agency has also been informed. The director of communication in the Municipality of Shkodër, Ergys Kavaja, said that they will coordinate with other law enforcement structures to take measures to clear the territory of drugs within a few days.

Hazardous pharmaceutical waste in the bed of the Kir river/ Ping-pong

The fiction was also addressed to IKMT Shkodër. In the act of ascertainment held by the employees of the National Inspectorate of Territory Protection, Shkodër branch on February 16, 2024, pharmaceutical waste deemed dangerous by them, near the Kir river, was identified.

IKMT Shkodra has delegated the matter to the Local Police Directorate of Shkodra to identify the perpetrators and to the Municipality of Shkodra for the disposal of these wastes. After 11 days, on February 27, 2024, the Police of Shkodra replied to IKMT that they had carried out several checks in the area, but were unable to identify the perpetrators.

So, no one can identify the people who did not destroy them, but threw the boxes with the expired vitamins near the river Kir, while the boxes have the address of the company that imported them and the lot number.

Hazardous pharmaceutical waste in the bed of the Kir river/ Ping-pong

The changes that were made in the regulation on supplementary foods, at the time when the Minister of Agriculture was Mr. Edmon Panariti, charge the AKU with the responsibility of controlling entities that trade vitamins and minerals. But Mr. Gjergj Sokoli, the Director of AKU Shkodër, told Fiksin that this institution is not responsible, since they do not have access to check the pharmacies.

"We are AKU. We have no power of control over the drugs that are marketed in the pharmaceutical industry. The ISHH is responsible. This is a drug marketed for pharmacies, to which we have no control access" , he declared in the answer to "Fiks Fare"./ tch