Montenegro

Albania - Bajza

Albania, Shkoder - Stockpile of toxic chemicals at Bajza Railway Station, Shkoder - Currently, estimated 200 tons of expired pesticides and other chemicals are being stored more than 15 years ago at the railway station in Bajza. The letter from the local community to the Albanian Minister of Environment, Forestry and Water Administration indicated that expired pesticides like: rrogor, vofatox, nogos, selinon, novakrom, spitsornit, 2-4 D, fugorat, sevin, lindan, etc. formed a part of the bulk and has been added by other unknown chemicals and other products like pieces of leather.
Bajza is the last railway station in Albania before the frontier with Montenegro, so it acts as a customs control point. Two freight trains daily pass through and approximately 10,000 tons of freight are handled each month. The station is located at the shore of trans-boundary Shkoder (Skadar) Lake – the largest lake on the Balkan Peninsula that both Albania and Montenegro have officially designated as cross-border protected area. With the designation of Albanian part of the Shkoder (Skadar) Lake as a Ramsar site the entire lake is now included in a Ramsar list.

The proposed intervention under this programme will aim to fully clean up the stockpile of toxic chemicals and remediate the hot spot enabling the local government and Bajza rail way station to utilize the rehabilitated storehouse and improve environmental situation in the area.