Lebanon’s Waters: Polluted, Toxic, And Dangerous To Swim In

Summertime in Lebanon usually entails a lot of sunshine and time spent by (and in) the sea. But Lebanese people are starting to take notice of a dangerous toxic blanket that now impedes their usual sea-filled summer habits. The grey, murky, smelly blanket of trash that we’ve witnessed slowly but surely cover the Lebanese coastline over the past few years has finally taken its toll on our once blue sea.

Images via Green Party of Lebanon

In 2015, a study was conducted by Lebanon’s Center for Marine Science. The report revealed a daunting reality but one that we all knew was coming, that Lebanon’s coastline is highly polluted – specifically near Lebanon’s most major landfills. Since then, the situation has gotten much, much worse.

Articles by Lebanon’s main daily newspapers like The Daily Star and Al Akhbar warn the Lebanese public not to swim in the sea, not just by the country’s landfills, but anywhere off of Lebanon’s coast. The Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) released a report in 2017 stating that every single one of Lebanon’s bodies of water – from the sea to lakes, rivers, and streams – are polluted with varying toxicity, but all toxic to some degree.

Image via STOP Cultural Terrorism In Lebanon

So toxic, in fact, the increasing bacteria levels in areas of Lebanon’s coast are over 100 times the safe limit and would warrant the closure of public beaches with the same levels of pollution in The States. Michel Afram, head of the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute even told The National that “the government must declare a state of emergency for water quality in Lebanon.”

LARI’s 2017 report noted that pollution levels in all of Lebanon’s waters were dangerously high, especially in areas near landfills – like Jounieh, Saida, and Ramlet el Baida. But, by nature, if the water is polluted in one area, the current will carry it elsewhere, meaning that virtually no area of Lebanon’s sea is safe to swim in, let alone live by. Tripoli, Tyre, Dbayeh, and Chekka follow up second in terms of water pollution levels, and other areas, like Batroun, Jbeil, Jiyyeh, and Dammour are the ‘least polluted’ on the list, but still highly polluted nonetheless.

Waters are showing positive results for high levels of metals, chemicals and bacteria – mixing together in the Mediterranean to create a hazardous mass of water. All the result of different (avoidable) causes, from untreated human waste being purged into the sea constantly, to agricultural and industrial dumping, to overfilled landfills burdening the coast, to the government’s incredible reluctance to introduce effective means of waste management, to the public’s general disregard towards pollution and the importance of taking care of the environment.

Image courtesy of The Daily Star

So, what are the implications of taking a dip? Lebanon’s coastal waters have shown alarming levels of metals (like mercury, lead, and copper) among other forms of hazardous bacteria. If ingested, these elements can cause immediate poisoning, and in the long-run can even lead to cancer. There have been numerous cases of people claiming to have swam in the sea recently only to emerge with instant rashes on their bodies as a result. And, although everyone has been warned not to jump in, those with open wounds, cuts, or scratches, are specifically warned not to go anywhere near it.

The worst case scenario is upon us in Lebanon. We have poisoned our own sea to the extent that the sea is now poisoning us. LARI’s 2018 report will be released soon, and we can only predict the horrors that the report will expose. Until then, those who seek to take a summer break and head to the shore are now considered careless rebels rather than summertime revelers – because they’re literally swimming in their own toxic shit.

Main image courtesy of Lebanon Eco Movement

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