In reaction to received reports of illegally discarded barrels in the “Iskar”, “Pancharevo”, and “Kremikovtsi” regions, experts from RIEW-Sofia, together with employees of the 8^th District Police Department of the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs, the Municipality of Sofia, the Inspectorate of the Municipality of Sofia, the Sofia Municipal Directorate “Fire Safety and Protection of the Population”, and representatives of the district administrations carried out on-site inspections.

During the visits, discarded barrels, some of which broken and with unclear contents, were found on various properties. Some of the barrels were labeled to contain chemical substances dangerous to humans and the environment. The labels on some were torn, illegible or absent. In order to establish the contents of the barrels and the authenticity of the labels placed on some of them, samples were taken for analysis by the Sofia Directorate of Internal Affairs.

During the inspection, 125 barrels of chemicals were found located in four different places in the “Iskar” area. In the “Pancharevo” area 42 barrels were found in two properties, and in the “Kremikovtsi” area – 83 barrels.

RIEW-Sofia has given instructions to the district administrations, with a specific deadline, to take measures to secure and clean the affected places. Contaminated areas are fenced off with security tapes. Following the instructions, 95 of the barrels were moved to a site corresponding to storage requirements.

The removal of the remaining barrels is in progress, and soil samples will be taken at the locations where spills have been detected by employees of the Executive Agency for Environment. RIEW-Sofia will undertake the subsequent control. In the event of established non-fulfillment of the prescriptions during inspections, sanctions will be imposed on district administrations.

Efforts to establish the facts and circumstances related to the discarded barrels are ongoing.