Energy Ministry confirms progress in transfer of toxic products from Tripoli

BEIRUT — The Energy and Water Ministry responded to rumors regarding its "alleged lack of responsiveness" in the transfer of chemical products to the oil facilities of Tripoli, in a statement released Saturday, assuring that the work has already begun.

Reacting to an MTV report dated Jan. 24, which accused it and raised the alarm about the possible link between the rise in cancers in the region and the storage of these products, the institution dismissed the "groundless accusations," stating that it has been "engaged for more than two years in the packaging and transfer of chemical products present in Tripoli and Zahrani facilities."

A document from the Oil Directorate, within the Energy Ministry dated Jan. 15, 2024, said the presence of materials such as sodium hydroxide or ammonium bifluoride are corrosive and "highly toxic" substances. In March of the same year, a hundred protesters, responding to the call of the Union of al-Fayha Municipalities and other unions from northern Lebanon, gathered in front of the oil facilities located south of Tripoli to denounce the presence of these dangerous products.

Decree project

According to the ministry, the company AGROMEC, which won the public tender against four competitors, possesses "the required experience for this type of sensitive tasks that it "has already started without delay." The statement said that "given the urgency and importance of this project for public health, this contract has received an exceptional approval from the president, Joseph Aoun, validated by the caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, on Jan. 20, 2025."

This decree project will have to be submitted to the government to validate its financing. "AGROMEC conducted the necessary tests to ensure the safety of the materials and has received an official report from the Lebanese army confirming the absence of radioactivity," the statement claimed.

After completing the packaging in Zahrani, the company is currently progressing in the Tripoli facilities and is preparing to transport the materials to a specialized laboratory in Europe for their treatment and elimination, following international standards and environmental authorizations, further stated the Ministry of Energy.

The presence of these products has become more sensitive after the devastating explosion at the port of Beirut on Aug. 4, 2020, caused by improperly stored ammonium nitrate. While the onset of war in Gaza, then in southern Lebanon, diverted attention from the issue of dangerous materials in Lebanon, new controversies have brought it back to the forefront.

In June 2024, the state had been challenged due to dangerous substances in the Zouk power plant. Mikati had then dismissed fears by stating that the chemical products were "in a stable condition," "stored appropriately and inspected regularly." The products in the Zouk power plant "do not pose a threat to the safety and public health of the surrounding areas of the plant, contrary to what has been disseminated in the media," the caretaker prime minister said at the time.