Sharjah24 – AFP: A German firm has treated 52 containers of hazardous material at Beirut port and will ship them out of Lebanon, the German ambassador said Saturday, months after a monster port blast.
The August 4 explosion of a stockpile of ammonium nitrate fertiliser that had been left to languish haphazardly at the Beirut port for years killed more than 200 people, wounded at least 6,500 others and ravaged swaths of the capital.
Lebanon's worst peace-time disaster sparked concerns over remaining shipments of hazardous chemicals still stored at the blast site.
In November, Lebanon signed a contract with Combi Lift, which was already working at the port, to clear containers carrying hazardous chemicals.
The containers, which include corrosive acids, had been stored in an open-air cargo zone for over a decade under the supervision of Lebanon’s customs authority, officials said at the time.
Lebanese authorities have said Combi Lift will ship the chemicals in special containers as part of a $3.6 million deal, with the port authority reportedly to pay $2 million of that.
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