Final Report: Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) Activity

As part of the emergency response, ECODIT LLC engaged Earth Link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD) to conduct a rapid assessment related to asbestos management in a construction and demolition waste (CDW) storage site in Beirut. The assessment aimed to conduct sampling of CDW stockpiles, specifically in Bakalian storage/disposal site, and provide preliminary management alternatives of asbestos-contaminated material (if any). The Bakalian waste storage site is located in northeastern Beirut in the Karantina district, facing the historic Bakalian Flour Mills. The site's jurisdiction is divided between two entities, with the first part of 6,000 m2 falling under Beirut Governor's jurisdiction and the other part of 14,000 m2 belonging to Port of Beirut. The site was used to store baled solid waste during the 2015 solid waste crisis in Lebanon and was left empty until the August 4, 2020, Beirut massive explosion, when it was designated again as a solid waste storage site. The site includes four distinctive stockpiles of glass, rubble, miscellaneous, and Kettaneh. Utilizing the polygon edit feature within the Google Earth Pro application, the area is estimated to cover approximately 18,000 m2 of land. The assessment was conducted by ELARD, in collaboration with an international asbestos management expert, from December 21-30, 2020. The methodology of the fieldwork and analysis was based on both Canadian and international best practices tailored to the Lebanese conditions. The assessment involved sampling of the CDW stockpiles, specifically in Bakalian storage/disposal site, to determine the presence of asbestos-contaminated material. The sampling results are presented in Section 3 of this report, which includes a detailed narrative of each stockpile and the sampling results. The assessment also feeds into the rapid comparative analysis of available options for managing (recycling/recovering or disposal) the broken glass generated by the Beirut explosion, conducted by ECODIT Liban, another local subcontractor to ECODIT LLC under DAWERR. The preliminary management alternatives for asbestos-contaminated material, if any, are presented in Section 4 of this report. The alternatives include on-site and off-site disposal, exporting the hazardous waste, neutralization and valorization process, and on-site remediation. The recommendations on next steps are presented in Section 5 of this report, which includes a summary of the assessment findings and recommendations for further action. The assessment was conducted in accordance with both Canadian and international best practices tailored to the Lebanese conditions. The sampling results and preliminary management alternatives presented in this report are intended to provide a preliminary assessment of the asbestos management needs of the Bakalian waste storage site.