These include exposure to fine particles, dioxins, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and polychlorinated biphenyls, which have been linked to heart disease, cancer, skin diseases, asthma, and respiratory illnesses. A range of scientific studies have documented the dangers that emissions from the open burning of household waste pose to human health. The open burning of waste in Lebanon may have serious consequences for the health of people living nearby. But it is also the result of the central government’s prioritization of waste collection and disposal in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, which produce just half of Lebanon’s municipal solid waste, while leaving other municipalities to fend for themselves without adequate financial support, technical expertise, and oversight.Īn open dump in Baalbek just meters from this family’s home. Open burning of waste occurs when existing waste management plans break down, such as occurred in Beirut and surrounding Mount Lebanon during a 2015 waste management crisis that saw garbage piling up in the streets. Children and older persons are at particular risk. In Lebanon, open burning is a consequence of the government’s failure to manage solid waste in a way that respects environmental and health laws designed to protect people. Because it risks causing a range of short and long-term health problems, it implicates the Lebanese government’s legal obligations to protect the health of its citizens. Open burning of waste is a dangerous and avoidable practice that takes place across Lebanon. We’ve had to go to the hospital because of this.” The intensity of the smell would cause us to become dizzy.” We are coughing all the time, unable to breathe, sometimes we wake up and see ash in our spit. “It’s like there’s fog across the whole town.
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