For years, the Durrës pesticide and chemical plant in Porto Romano manufactured pesticides such as the now banned lindane. The contamination from the hazardous substances affected not only the surrounding soil and water, but also the human food chain as the pollution spread to the groundwater and to the surrounding environment. Now, after five years of remediation work, the site has been cleaned up, and a controlled landfill has been established.
Remediation project first of its kind
The remediation project is the first of its kind to be undertaken by the Albanian government, and the experience gained from the project will be used to remediate other contaminated sites in the country. Several environmental hot spots have already been identified.
The project was financed by the Albanian government, the Dutch government and the World Bank as part of an integrated coastal zone management and clean-up initiative, which has as its overall objective to protect Albania's coastal ecosystems, resources and cultural assets and promote their sustainable development and management.
COWI and its local partner, Planconsult, were in charge of the design of the controlled landfill and the supervision of the remediation of the lindane-contaminated soil.
Lindane deposited in controlled landfill
The lindane contaminated soil was deposited in a confined disposal facility – a controlled landfill – constructed on site with bottom and top liners.
Specific health and safety measures were also taken during the demolition of the old buildings and during the excavation and disposal of contaminated soil to avoid hazardous exposure of the workers. Lindane is a highly dangerous chemical and a persistent pollutant. It affects the nervous system and kidneys, and it is associated with liver cancer. It is long-lived in the environment and accumulates in the food chain.
