Marinza residents protest and seek relocation following official measurements that show the area has become contaminated after the April 1 eruption caused by oil company
TIRANA, May 7 – Prosecutors have questioned the top Albanian executive of Bankers Petroleum as part of their investigation into the cause of an eruption at an oil well run by the Canada-based company.
Last month’s incident damaged many homes in nearby Marinza village and contaminated the area, according to the Ministry of Health.
Prosecutors in the southwestern city of Fier questioned Bankers Vice President Leonidha Çobo over the early April incident in an oil well.
Çobo drew public anger last month after stating that the explosion was harmless and the gas released was carbon dioxide, which “can be bought in the supermarket as dry ice.”
The Ministry of Health said this week that the public water system Marinza can no longer be used for human consumption. Private water wells also fall outside the standards for human consumption, the ministry said.
The National Environment Agency has found that the sulfur dioxide present in Marinza was 56 percent more than the norm set by the World Health Organization, while the nitrogen dioxide was 49 percent more than the international norm, according to several local media reports. Both gases are toxic to humans.
Bankers said it acted appropriately and quickly normalized the situation at the well. It has also promised financial compensation for residents who had their homes damaged.
However, the residents of Marinza held protests this week seeking to be paid to relocate elsewhere. They said their livelihoods – the agricultural land and the milk they produce – had become contaminated.
They spilled tens of litters of milk in protest, after saying the wholesale buyer would not take it from them due to fears of chemical contamination.
