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WATER POLLUTION

Four food factories shut down for polluting the Litani River

The Litani River is the longest in Lebanon, stretching approximately 140 kilometers from its source in the fertile Bekaa Valley to the Mediterranean Sea.

Four food factories shut down for polluting the Litani River

Workers remove plastic from the sea. (Illustrative photo courtesy of: Plastic Busters)

BEIRUT — Lebanon's caretaker Ministry of Industry shut down four food production factories on Thursday, including Alpha Interfood and A-Z Manufacturing, having proven the facilities were dumping polluted wastewater into Lebanon's Litani River. The decision to shut down the first two factories was issued Monday, followed by two more on Thursday, leading to all four being shuttered the same day for their environmental violations, Industry Minister George Bouchikian told L'Orient Today.

The National Litani River Authority initially voiced concerns over polluted industrial water being dumped into the Litani River following its periodic inspections, the head of the Authority, Sami Alawieh, told L'Orient Today. Alawieh confirmed the Industry Ministry's decision to shut down the factories.

The Litani River is the longest river in Lebanon, stretching approximately 140 kilometers from its source in the fertile Bekaa Valley to the Mediterranean Sea.

The pollution of the river is a decades-old problem, the result of poor practices, including ineffective wastewater treatment systems and the weak enforcement of existing regulations, compounded by irresponsible behavior on the part of local industries. In November 2018, the Ministry of Industry shut down 79 unlicensed factories that were polluting the Litani River.

According to a 2021 issue of the International Journal of River Basin Management, the Litani contributes to the water needs of more than one million people living within the basin and provides vital watershed ecosystem functions for soil and forest covers in the surrounding environment.

Alawieh says the decision to shut down the factories came after it was clearly proven they had been systematically polluting the environment. The two factories included in the Thursday announcement remained unnamed at the time of publication, but Monday's announcement concerned Alpha Interfood factory, whose brands include Chtoura and Maxi Foods canned vegetables and legumes, and A-Z Manufacturing, whose brands include Duvrai, Vino and Vita sauces, oil, molasses, and vinegars.

According to the text detailing the decision, which was obtained by L'Orient Today's correspondent in the Bekaa, production at Alpha Interfood and the A-Z factories produced polluted wastewater filled with harmful by-products and pollutants, which have both direct and indirect effects on human health and the surrounding nature.

Contacted by L'Orient Today, Alpha Interfood said they had not yet been notified of the decision, but that they are equipped with a water purification system and "up to standard."

A-Z Manufacturing could not be immediately reached for comment.

The National Litani River Authority often calls out environmental violations that threaten the river's health and has previously removed many encroachments installed along the river, evoking anti-pollution measures.

Sarah Abdallah contributed to this report

BEIRUT — Lebanon's caretaker Ministry of Industry shut down four food production factories on Thursday, including Alpha Interfood and A-Z Manufacturing, having proven the facilities were dumping polluted wastewater into Lebanon's Litani River. The decision to shut down the first two factories was issued Monday, followed by two more on Thursday, leading to all four being shuttered the same...