Environment Minister calls for report on toxic waste fuel racket

By Ifham Nizam

Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera yesterday instructed the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) Director General Hemantha Jayasinghe to submit a report with clear information on the waste oil racket which had allegedly become a public health hazard due to lack of any controls.

Amaraweera said that it had been revealed that on an average, about 64,000 kilolitres of waste oil was shipped here annually.

CEA, citing recent studies, has said that the illegal dumping of fuel oil could cause cancer, skin diseases and autoimmune diseases. “It has been revealed that the use of burnt ship fuel has become a big racket,” said the Minister.