Gaza Strip, soil has been contaminated due to bombings: population in danger

international | anti-war / imperialism | other press Friday December 18, 2009 11:42 by pat c

Professors Mario Barbieri, Maurizio Barbieri & Paola Manduca have prepared a a report which shows that the 2006 and 2009 Israeli bombing has left Gaza in a dangerous copndition for its inhabitants. Not just from unexploded bombs but also from toxic metals in the soils. Full text at link.

The 2006 and 2009 Israeli bombings in Gaza Strip have left a high concentration of toxic metals in the soil. Those metals can cause tumours and problems with fertility, and they can have serious effects on newly born babies, like deformities and genetic pathologies. The metals are in particular tungsten, mercury, molybdenum, cadmium and cobalt.

The study has compared the levels of concentration of metals in the craters with those indicated in a report on the presence of metals in the Gaza Strip soil, based on samples collected from 170 locations in 20052. The analyses have shown anomalous concentrations of these metals inside the craters, indicating a contamination of the soil. This, given the precarious living conditions, especially in refugee camps, increases the risk of exposure to toxic substances, through the skin, through the lungs and through ingestion.