Early this morning, officers from the Enforcement Directorate of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) started unearthing quantities of possible hazardous waste which had been illegally buried under layers of concrete flooring in two sites of the Palumbo Shipyard in Cospicua.

In a statement, the authority said it started investigating the site after it received a tip off that quantities of grit blasting material were buried under the concrete foundations. In line with established procedures Palumbo Shipyard is obliged to export all the grit blasting waste it generates.

From initial investigations it results that grit blasting waste which is generated by Palumbo’s operation had been used in the foundations of the yard and was buried under the concrete flooring. Officers also inspected a gutter which runs across the property with the consequence of possibly contaminating the inland sea.

The authority is collecting various samples of the unearthed waste material to send for testing to determine what procedures and safeguards it needs to take.

Investigations are still ongoing.