New quantities of lindane were found in one of the warehouses of the former chemical industry complex OHIS, at the outskirts of Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, by an unannounced inspection by the State Environmental Inspectorate. Three tons of lindane packed in industrial paper sacks were found on wooden pallets in the warehouse now owned by Hemiski Inzhenering Skopje company. The inspection also found three fluid tanks full with chlorine.
The Ministry of Environment of North Macedonia says that it has been informed that these chemicals and hazardous waste were found in a warehouse and that it is an obligation of the owner to conduct a cleanup in an appropriate manner.
During the unannounced inspection, the inspectors found out that in some facilities and containers that the Hemiski Inzhenering company took over after OHIS’s bankruptcy in 2018 there are unknown quantities of chemicals and hazardous waste from pesticides that were not evidenced and that neither the Ministry nor the Inspectorate knew anything about until now.
The inspectors have ordered the owner and the company to conduct an inventory count of all chemicals and hazardous waste stored in the facilities that he has taken over and to remove them in a period of 90 days. The inspectors have determined that close to the hazardous waste, metal pipes were flame-cutted, so they banned all activities around the facilities, reservoirs and tanks.
