Government Commissioner for Pest Country Richárd Tarnai has announced that by the end of May 991 barrels containing the most dangerous substances will have to be removed from the Budapest Chemical Works Illatos út plant.
At a press conference Mr. Tarnai said that barrels are already being removed. The hazardous waste is being transported to an incineration plant in Dorog for destruction, he added.
According to the Government Commissioner, experts from the National Directorate General for Disaster Management indicated that the site is notan immediate danger, therefore they did not continue removal of barrels over the weekend. He also emphasised, however, that the work is continuous, the schedule for removal and logistics being the responsibility of the Directorate General’s contractor.
Mr. Tarnai also announced that removal of the remaining barrels of dangerous substances will be organised through public procurement, so they hope that all the barrels will be removed by the end of the year.
He drew attention to the fact that the Government will spend a total of HUF 1.1 billion on eliminating the problem. In answer to a question he said that the 991 barrels which had to be urgently removed account for approximately ten per cent of all the hazardous waste.
The Government Commissioner also pointed out that the Government Office is constantly supervising removal and compliance with the deadline of 31 May.
Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office János Lázár announced on Thursday that he has ordered an immediate inspection of the Illatos út plant, where approximately 2800 tonnes of hazardous waste had been deposited. According to estimates, the costs will amount to HUF 1.1 billion, he said; for the time being, this amount will have to be provided by the Ministry of National Economy, but it will be recovered from the assets of Budapest Chemical Works, which is currently under a winding-up procedure.
(Prime Minister's Office/MT)
