The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that its mission arrived in Lebanon on Monday to begin its work to help authorities assess the risks of radiation after the Beirut port explosion on August 4.
Following the catastrophic explosion, at the Beirut port last month, the agency took swift measures to help Lebanon respond to its immediate needs," said the agency's director general, Rafael Grossi, in a speech delivered at a meeting of its board of governors today.
Grossi confirmed that the agency has undertaken joint work with the Lebanese authorities to estimate the extent of damage to the health sector and infrastructure of Beirut as a result of the explosion.
Grossi added that the IAEA mission will provide technical assistance, in as teams formed by member states, arrived Saturday in Lebanon and today will begin work on contributing to conducting radiation surveys.
The technical teams will collect samples, conducting analyzes and providing advice on potential radiation risks.
Lebanon is seeking to overcome the repercussions of the huge explosion that rocked the port of the capital, Beirut, as a result of a fire that reached a warehouse containing 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate.
The mega explosion killed 192 people and wounded 6.5 thousand others with the destruction of entire neighborhoods in the city in a few seconds.
Beirut was declared a disaster zone, while the city witnessed angry protests over the explosion that prompted the government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab to resign weeks ago.
The Lebanese authorities have warned that citizens in some areas of the capital, Beirut, face the danger of poisoning by toxic gases emitted by the huge explosion that rocked the city's port yesterday.
The meteorology department of the Lebanese Civil Aviation Administration advised the citizens today, "not to approach the area of the explosion to avoid pollution and avoid mountainous areas north of the area of the explosion, as it is the most vulnerable to the cloud of poisonous gases emitted from the explosion because most of the air is southwest".
This warning came after the explosion that killed at least one hundred people and injured more than four thousands, not to mention the enormous material damage to the city.
This is the most powerful explosion witnessed in the Lebanese capital throughout its history. The reason for the explosion is due to a large shipment of ammonium nitrate estimated at 2750 tons, which was stored 6 years ago in a warehouse in the port.
The ex-Lebanese Minister of Health, Hassan Hamad, confirmed that the number of people still missing after the huge explosion that shook Beirut Port exceeds the death toll from the victims whose bodies were taken to hospitals.
Hamad confirmed, in an interview with "Sky News Arabia" today, Wednesday, that the death toll from the explosion that occurred yesterday is still rising and has so far reached about 100 dead and four thousand wounded.
Hamad noted that the rescue and civil defense teams are still searching for the missing at the location of the explosion that spanned Its effects extend to more than 20 km in the capital, pointing out that the explosion severely damaged hundreds of buildings.
The minister added that many of the wounded are still without treatment due to the lack of capacity at hospitals near or far from the capital, which were filled with the injured.
The minister affirmed that four hospitals in Beirut were completely damaged by the explosion and the patients who were lying there were transferred to another, saying that "this exacerbated the problem and transformed the crisis into an epidemic health disaster par excellence".
The minister acknowledged that the Health Ministry warehouses were severely damaged by the explosion.
He said that bodies of his ministry are striving to receive and rescue patients, despite the limited capabilities and scarcity of materials, and there are not enough medical materials.
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