A meeting between the commander of the firemen of Beirut and a consultant of the minister of environment. (Credit: Environment Ministry)
BEIRUT — Firefighters in coordination with the administrations responsible for the port commenced the process of cooling the Beirut port silos’ northern block, the last section of which collapsed on Monday and which has been ablaze for over a month, caretaker Environment Minister announced in a tweet Thursday afternoon, adding that this is the first step in a series of steps to treat the rubble and charred grains at the silos site.
The final silos in the northern section collapsed Tuesday morning, while the southern section appears to be stable.
Speaking to L’Orient Today earlier Thursday, Mohamad Abiad, senior advisor to caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, said that the first phase of the operation would commence at 1 p.m. and would consist of cooling of the left-over grains, which Abiad said have reached a temperature of up to 450 degrees Celsius. This part of the process would be handled by the Karantina fire brigade and would take more than a week, he said.
The ministry still needs to quantify the amount of grains remaining to assess the full scope of the removal, Abiad said, noting that the entire process would take weeks to complete.
He added that the ministry will conduct a study on the proper disposal of the rubble created by the recent collapse of the northern section of the silos before it is removed.
On Wednesday, Yassin noted that the work will be done under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works and in cooperation with UN Habitat. Additionally, he said the grains would be treated to prevent the spread of fungi in the air.
On Sunday, the Health Ministry had published a series of instructions for people at the port or within its perimeter, in order to avoid long exposure to fungi.
They included reducing the number of workers and people present in the port, wearing KN95 masks and closing doors and windows in the port area, and limiting the number of working hours inside the port. Those with respiratory problems were advised not to go to the port area.
The news comes after caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati decided to preserve the southern block of the silos and classify it as a historical monument, overturning a previous decision by his government to demolish the entire structure.