Inside the clean-up of last year’s deadly Beirut blast
By 
Rebecca Trager2021-06-30T08:30:00
German firms hired to handle the 59 contaminated containers in Beirut’s port found hydrochloric, sulfuric, hydrofluoric acids, and more
When an explosion in Beirut killed over 200 people and injured thousands more in August 2020 authorities soon uncovered that it was caused by nearly 3000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been improperly stored for years. The disaster made it clear that a massive clean-up effort was needed, and Lebanese officials approached specialist German companies to begin the massive job.
Höppner Environmental Protection Consultancy, based in northern Germany, partnered with German heavy lift transportation company Combi Lift to inspect 59 containers of concern that had been stored at the port for years and then securely ship them to Germany for safe disposal.