Following the huge earthquakes which hit Turkey and Syria in February 2023, there is concern that a ‘secondary disaster’ caused by toxic contamination could be at least as severe as the earthquakes themselves.
The earthquakes which caused massive damage to the regions have left behind huge amounts of toxins including asbestos, silica, mercury and lead.
With more than 300,000 buildings damaged or collapsed the clean-up could take decades.
With an optimistic estimate, I would say that 3 million people will be sick
Mehmet Şeyhmus Ensari, Chairman of Turkey’s Association of Asbestos Dismantling Experts.
You can find out more in this excellent article from Reuters.
