The official training school for girls in the Abi Samra district, in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. (Credit: Michel Hallak)
The Lebanese police assured on Sunday that the chemicals, including ammonium nitrate found in storage at a technical school in Tripoli, are "scientific-use chemicals" used in the school's "educational laboratories" and not "explosive materials."
Reports about the presence of ammonium nitrate inside the Abi Samra public girls' school in Tripoli had circulated on social media and sparked concern in the major northern Lebanese city, according to our correspondent in the region.
Ammonium nitrate, a white, odorless salt used as the basis for many nitrogen fertilizers in granular form, was at the origin of the Aug. 4, 2020, tragedy, when explosions at the Beirut port killed more than 235 people and injured 6,500. The blast resulted from a fire that triggered the detonation of hundreds of tons of the substance that had been haphazardly stored at the capital’s port.
The Internal Security Forces (ISF) clarified that the materials discovered in Tripoli had already "been subject to technical examination by specialists," who confirmed they pose "no danger" and do not represent "any threat to public safety." The ISF called on citizens to "exercise caution" and "avoid spreading rumors before verifying information with official sources."
The Abi Samra public girls' school, for its part, stated that the information is completely "false," assuring that "there is no reason to be afraid or panic." It added that the materials present are educational chemicals used in the science laboratory by teachers and that their safety has been confirmed.
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