Lebanon will face serious public health hazards, including water contamination, unless it quickly cleans up the debris of war, the United Nations has warned.

A report [1] by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warns that unexploded cluster bombs are a risk. Large areas of agricultural land have become no-go areas for farmers. The report recommends investigations to check and remove highly radioactive materials. In addition, many bomb-damaged factories were contaminated with toxic substances.

"Urgent action is needed to remove and safely dispose of such substances which include ash and leaked chemicals amid concerns they represent a threat to water supplies and public health," said the report.

Lebanon’s water supply and sewage networks were extensively damaged in the conflict and present a risk of groundwater contamination. “Waste water management constitutes a major chronic environmental stress factor,” says the report, prepared by UNEP’s Post Conflict Branch.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner urged nations attending a Lebanon reconstruction meeting in Paris, to consider the environment in their talks.

[1] UNEP (2007). Lebanon : post-conflict environmental assessment. pdf (16.8 MB)

Related news: Lebanon: Amnesty accuses Israel of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, Source, 19 Sep 2006; Lebanon: lack of water and sanitation adds to risks, Source Weekly, 07 Aug 2006

Contact: Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson, e-mail

Source: Reuters AlertNet, 23 Jan 2007; UNEP News Release, 23 Jan 2007

Tags: emergencies, sanitation, water quality