A helicopter sprays water over the port following the collapse of four more silos. (Credit: Joao Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — An inspection of the air quality in the area surrounding the Beirut port, after the latest collapse of parts of the silos on Thursday, found no substantial concentrations of several pollutants within the limits of detection of the equipment used, according to caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin.
Here’s what we know:
• The study was conducted by the Lebanese Armed Forces' Chemical, biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Office, and the American University of Beirut's Laboratories for the Environment, Agriculture and Food, at a distance of 100 m downwind from the silos between 6:08 and 6:48 p.m.
• PM2.5 and PM10 measurements were within safe levels, Yassin said. PM stands for “particulate matter” and refers to particles of pollutants in the air. 2.5 and 10 are measurements of the size of the particles, with smaller ones being more dangerous because they penetrate deeper into the human body.
• “Samples for fungi and asbestos are still being analyzed, and will be published once they are ready” Yassin added.