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Kurum has ended its activities, claiming that it is in the process of rehabilitation, notifying 500 workers at the steel mill and processing plant of the unilateral termination of their contracts, but without giving an official reason for the suspension.
News24 reported that as of August 1, the steel mill had ceased production, and as of August 20, the processing plant was also closed.
It is unclear what the exact reason for the closure was, whether it was related to toxic waste issues or something else.
Following the closure of the factory, 500 families in Elbasan will continue to be without income from August 20.
So far, Kurum leaders have not confirmed the decision, although officials say the event’s closure is due to major renovations.
We recall that, according to testimonies and published documents, the company “Kulum International” was the source of hundreds of tons of suspected hazardous waste, which was exported from the port of Durres to Thailand, causing global alarm. Bourne.
Also read: BIRN investigation: ‘Kurum’ hidden behind ‘hazardous waste’ exported from the Port of Durres
The Turkish company “Kurum International” has been operating at the former Elbasan Metallurgical Plant since 1998 and is an important regional supplier of iron rods for construction. It employs hundreds of border workers and is also a significant employer in the city of Elbasan.
In order to reduce pollution caused by industry, Coolum has installed filtration systems at the former metallurgical plant since 2010 to capture ash residues from the chimney gas treatment process. According to the company’s environmental self-monitoring reports obtained by BIRN through the Right to Information Act, the company still produces thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste chimney ash every year.
Waste from gas purification filters has always been a problem for “Kurum” because it is classified as hazardous waste and reported under the code 10 02 07* according to the current waste catalogue.
“This dust captured by the system is bagged and can be exported or used locally. During this time, this waste was not evacuated, it was stored in the square in question and is the raw material for the production of paint because of its high zinc oxide content. Kurum reported in June 2021.
The total amount of waste generated by Kurum over more than a decade and its destination remains unknown, but in just three months the company reported having accumulated 2,500 tons of dust that was otherwise declared as zinc oxide.
From 2022, part of the waste will be recycled by another Albanian-Chinese company based in the Bradash Metallurgical Complex, called Alliance Resources. But Alliance Resources can process only a small part of the huge amount of waste generated in Kurum.
“We extract zinc oxide from Coolum and process it in our production line, increasing its content from 20-25% to 55-60%, which is then allowed to be traded freely in the EU and other countries.” Erdest Nushi, a former administrator and employee of the company “Alliance Resource”, told BIRN.
“We have limited capacity, we can process about 2500 tonnes in nine months. The volume at Coolum is much greater.” He added.
According to the verification, which was subsequently forwarded to the prosecutor’s office by the Durres police, 2,800 tons of waste produced by Kurum were allegedly sold in October and November 2023 to the company “Sokolaj” sh.pk.
Gjovana Sokolaj testified to the police that she believed the product that filled 102 containers was iron oxide and was purchased by the company “Kurum” for a total value of $41,000. Sokolaj then sold the shipment to its sister company GS Minerals Doo in Croatia for $141,000, and the containers left the port of Durres on July 4, 2024, arriving at their final destination, Thailand.
But almost a month later, Sokolaj testified, he received a troubling notice from the container company.
“…informed me that the 102 containers that my company had dropped off would be returned to the Port of Durres because the Port of Singapore refused to unload them because they suspected that the containers were filled with toxic substances,” Sokolaj said.
“I responded to his email and told him that the cargo loaded in the container was iron oxide which was analysed by Sokolaj sh.pk and Kurum sh.a and it did not yield results for toxic residues,” She claimed.
However, public records reviewed by BIRN show that Sokolaj’s Croatia-based company, GS Minerals Doo, openly advertised its trade in hazardous EAFD waste, as well as zinc oxide, online.
In one of the ads, the company said it had low-grade zinc concentrate in stock at the port of Durres and also had EAFD ash available for sale.
Along with the notice of dust containing hazardous waste, she posted a photo of dozens of filled bags – some wet from rain, some torn, with dust scattered outside, the location of which BIRN was unable to verify.
Bourne Investigation: ‘Kurum’ hidden behind ‘hazardous waste’ exported from the Port of Durres
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