Disaster Waste Management after Earthquakes: Lessons from Türkiye and Syria

Sevilkan Basak Unal, MD 1, PhD student, Cavet Isık Yavuz, MD, Public Health and Environmental Health Specialist, Associate Professor of Public Health

Pre-prepared and specialized disaster waste management is essential to avoid environmental health and safety problems after natural disasters, write Sevilcan Başak Ünal and Cavit Işık Yavuz

Two consecutive earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023, causing devastating damage to the region. The death toll in Turkey has exceeded 50,000 people,1 while subsequent aftershocks, fires and floods have increased the scale of devastation in 11 provinces. The uncoordinated and disorganized immediate response led to the failure of emergency rescue, relief and healthcare services

In the aftermath, as countries try to recover from the disaster, new environmental health risks threaten the region. The destruction of water, sanitation and hygiene services and damaged public infrastructure has further weakened the environmental health of the area.

Disaster waste management is an important environmental health concern. Because of the unprecedented scale of the destruction and the vastness of the affected area, large amounts of demolition waste were generated. According to the latest assessment reports, as of March 6, 2023, 35,355 buildings have collapsed and more than 200,000 damaged buildings must be demolished. and 16 times more than the Marmara earthquake in 1999. Temporary shelter areas and relief operations also contributed to large amounts of waste as already-existing waste management systems were disrupted by the disaster. Disaster waste may contain different types of solid and liquid materials such as natural materials, heavy metals, and other chemical and biological hazards, in addition to asbestos and other hazardous and carcinogenic substances.

Disaster waste management is an essential part of the earthquake recovery phase, as the amount of waste is higher compared to other types of disasters. Separating hazardous waste from non-hazardous waste is difficult because the waste is “trapped” in the uncollected debris. Disruption of existing wastewater and solid waste infrastructure exacerbates the situation 6. Decision-makers usually want to clean up debris as quickly as possible to rebuild the functions of the affected area, but avoiding environmental and public health risks must be a top priority. Disaster waste management requires comprehensive planning, including risk assessments, identification of hazardous waste, sorting and treatment processes, identification of disposal sites, transportation, security, and opportunities for reuse or recycling.

In Turkey, the ongoing work to clear the rubble continues to receive criticism from experts and the media. There are regulations outlining demolition waste management requirements,78 but current operations are far from meeting them. Reports indicate that the debris and waste disposal operation is operating without the necessary precautions to protect workers, residents and the environment. It has also been documented that disaster waste is collected and dumped on agricultural lands, riverbeds, wetlands, and next to settlements (9).

Inappropriate management of disaster waste puts the well-being of people and ecosystems at risk. Improper dumping can lead to many health, safety and environmental issues in the short and long term. Improper disposal leads to air, water and soil pollution risks for the area and other areas as pollutants can be transported by wind or groundwater. Residents, volunteers, and rescue and recovery personnel are at significant risk of environmental exposure. The risk of asbestos exposure is a public concern. The use of asbestos was banned in the country in 2010, but it is still present in buildings in various forms, such as insulation or insulation materials.10 Asbestos-containing materials are expected to be found in earthquake debris, especially since most of the collapsed buildings were built before 1999.11 in addition In addition, the earthquake-affected areas are among the places where environmental exposure to asbestos was already a problem prior to the disaster.

There is an urgent need to address the complex nature of disaster waste management in the aftermath of earthquakes. Disaster waste management is a challenging undertaking that requires technology, heavy machinery, an experienced workforce, and financing, along with cross-sector collaboration. Ideally, a disaster waste management plan should be developed before disaster strikes and incorporated into recovery plans for earthquake-affected areas. 6 Determining suitable disposal sites includes consideration of the site, topographical features and waste quantity. Factors to consider include distance from settlements, water sources, agricultural or industrial sites, as well as potential gas and dust emissions and fire hazards. The health and safety of workers and residents must be at the core of implementing disaster waste management plans. To help with this, the public needs to be informed of the processes and involved in the decision-making.

In the aftermath of earthquakes, the handling, removal and safe management of disaster waste should be a top priority for Turkey and Syria. Otherwise, improper management of earthquake debris and waste may lead to new environmental health hazards. To reduce these risks, post-disaster waste management must be included in disaster preparedness planning, and risk assessments must be conducted from the first days of a disaster. Focusing on preparedness plans, training expert teams and providing specialized equipment can help reduce environmental health problems after disasters.

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p1399 The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

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