Beirut river tests show red substance non-toxic

Minister of Environment, Nazem Khoury, told a news conference on Thursday that the red substance found in Beirut River a few weeks ago was neither hazardous nor toxic.       

The Minister announced today the results of the lab tests carried out shortly after the Beirut River mysteriously turned blood red after a stream of an unidentified substance started pouring into the southern bank of the river in Furn el-Chebbak, on February 15.       

Tests showed that the substance was an "organic non-toxic and non-hazardous compound."       

"In fact, the Ministry of Environment was notified about the presence of a red substance in Beirut River waterway at Quarantine on 15/2/2012; a work team from the Ministry was immediately mobilized to examine the field, evaluate the situation, and take samples," the Minister explained.        

Tests showed that the red substance sourced from a main sewage canal which pours into Beirut river waterway under the bridge linking Chevrolet roundabout in Sin-el-Fil to Habtoor Grand Hotel.         

The Minister indicated that work was underway to determine the location of the sewage network in an effort to determine plants using this kind of dying substance, assuming that tankers might have emptied their load in the sewage.      

He revealed that the Ministry of Environment had sent two letters to the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources as well as to the Council for Development and Reconstruction, hereby questing to receive detailed maps for sewage network.         

Khoury vowed that the Ministry would refer the responsible party to the competent judiciary, after determining the plants using the red substance.