Asbestos, silica, mercury and lead are among thousands of toxins released by the February earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Some experts say this 'secondary disaster' of toxic contamination could be more severe than the quakes themselves
Asbestos, silica, mercury and lead are among thousands of toxins released by the huge earthquakes in February that killed more than 54,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
Some experts said a ‘secondary disaster’ of toxic contamination could be even more severe than the quakes themselves. They said construction debris containing 85,000 toxic substances had been dumped in at least 15 sites. Reuters was not able to confirm that independently.Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan faces the toughest reelection battle of his two decade rule at elections on Sunday amid widespread anger in the quake region over the speed of his government’s initial response. Erdogan has focused much of his campaign on pledges to rebuild the destroyed areas quickly.
Deputy Environment Minister Mehmet Emin Birpinar said in a tweet on Feb. 25, the authorities would separate materials that are hazardous or recyclable from the rubble. Scenes of unprotected people, including children and rescue workers, moving through the dusty rubble played across television screens for weeks after the first quake struck on Feb. 6.
The U.N. Development Program says the volume of rubble generated from the destruction would top 100 million cubic meters - aroundIf piled up, it would be the equivalent of over 38 enormous heaps, each the size of the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt.Satellite images from before and after the quake show the trail of destruction along the western banks of the Asi river and the downtown area.Satellite image of Antakya on Sep. 27, 2021: Google, ©2023 Maxar Technologies. After the earthquake, Feb.
Ozturk and others said much of the rubble that has been removed from Antakya has been stored in nearby temporary dumps, raising concerns about contamination.In order to prevent soil, air, and water contamination, as well as the spread of diseases, Turkey must properly manage the earthquake waste, Sedat Gundogdu, a marine biologist at the University of Cukurova, said in a letter published in the journal Science in late April.
Altan Arslan, a 51-year-old who owns the pavement brick and cement block factory where the dump is located, said he had donated the land to the government to use to store rubble after the quake.
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