Smoke rises from the a newly collapsed part of the Beirut grain silos damaged during August 2020 blast as Lebanon marks the two-year anniversary of the explosion on Aug. 4, 2022. (Credit: Issam Abdallah/Reuters)
BEIRUT — Scientific examinations carried out by the Lebanese authorities show that no toxic substances are present in the air around the silos area of the Port of Beirut, caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin announced Wednesday, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Here’s what we know:
• The silos, which were heavily damaged in the Aug. 4, 2020 port explosion, recently suffered two partial collapses in less than a week — the first on July 31 and four silos collapsed on the second anniversary of the blast.
• Prior to the collapse, a series of fires had broken out in the silos in recent weeks, further undermining the structures already weakened by the blast.
• The emanation of very strong pestilential odors was noted last month by several residents, who expressed fears for their health.
• “The tests carried out last night in several places show, at the precise moment of these tests, that the air is free of any toxic substance,” assured Yassin.
• Scientific experts are carrying out examinations of the silos in coordination with the Lebanese Army, Yassin said.