A view of the Beirut port silos in Oct. 2022. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT – Wheat stored in the silos at the Beirut Port caused an unpleasant odor in some neighborhoods of the capital on Thursday, as changing weather conditions led to its fermentation and spoilage, a source at the port told L'Orient Today.
According to the source, this phenomenon typically occurs at the start of every summer. Although it is still March, Lebanon is currently experiencing warm air from North Africa, resulting in a gradual and significant rise in temperatures, which are now above seasonal averages.
Assaad Haddad, the General Director of the Beirut Port Silos, told L'Orient Today that grains outside the silos had been removed and treated. However, he added, there are still grains inside the damaged silos that have not been treated, as handling them "poses a risk" to those who would carry out the work.
He further pointed out that they do not have the means to remove grains filled with debris, as there are no proper suction systems available to extract them.
Haddad stated that there are "no radical solutions" to the problem unless Lebanese authorities make a decision regarding the fate of the silos.
On Aug. 4, 2020, a deadly explosion at the Beirut Port claimed the lives of over 220 people, injured more than 6,500 individuals and destroyed large parts of the city. Sixteen silos on the northern block of the Beirut port collapsed in three separate incidents following the blast, one of which occurred on the second anniversary of the explosion.
For several months in 2022, residents of Beirut reported smelling a foul odor from grain silos damaged by the explosion. Analyses at the time showed that the pollutants in the air posed a risk to public health. At least one of the fires in 2022 was allegedly caused by fermenting corn left in the northern part of the collapsed silo.
