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Turkey’s poor earthquake waste management

Article  in  Science · April 2023

DOI: 10.1126/science.adh4845

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Sedat Gündoğdu
Cukurova University
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Has images Sedat Gundogdu
Turkey’s poor Cukurova University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department
of Basic Science, 01330 Balcali, Saricam Adana, Turkey.
earthquake waste Email: sgundogdu@cu.edu.tr

management REFERENCES AND NOTES

1.Y. Guo et al., Earthq. Res. Adv.
10.1016/j.eqrea.2023.100219 (2023)...
On 6 February, a powerful earthquake of magni- 2.Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate
tude 7.8 hit southern and central Turkey, as well Change of Turkey, “Evaluate the cost of damage”
as northern and western Syria, followed shortly (2023); https://csb.gov.tr/bakan-kurum-11-
ilimizde-279-bin-binanin-acil-yikilacak-agir-hasarli-
afterward by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake (1). yikik-veya-orta-hasarli-oldugunun-tespitini-yaptik-
The two quakes caused the loss of thousands of bakanlik-faaliyetleri-38479 [in Turkish].
lives, and a damage assessment on 11 March re- 3.M. S. Habib et al., J. Clean. Prod. 212, 200 (2019).
4.United Nations Development Programme, “Millions of
vealed that 821,302 independent units and tons of earthquake rubble await removal in Tü-
279,000 buildings urgently require demolition rkiye” (2023).
because they have collapsed or been severely 5.G. Bonifazi, G. Capobianco, S. Serranti, Appl. Sci. 9,
damaged (2). To prevent soil, air, and water con- 4587 (2019).
6.G. Polat, A. Damci, H. Turkoglu, A. P. Gurgun, Procedia
tamination, as well as the spread of diseases (3), Eng. 196, 948 (2017).
Turkey must properly manage the earthquake 7.E. K. Lauritzen, Saf. Sci. 30, 45 (1998).
waste. 8.G. Marchesini, H. Beraud, B. Barroca, Int. J. Disast. Risk
Reduct. 53, 101996 (2021).
Demolishing the damaged structures will cre- 9.A. Geybullayeva, “The rubble after Turkey’s earth-
ate about 115 to 210 million cubic meters of quake may have a disastrous environmental im-
waste (4). Unlike typical construction and demo- pact,” Global Voices (2023).
10. B. Ö. Günaydın, “Earthquake victims in Turkey’s
lition wastes (CDWs), which undergo separation Hatay protest dumping rubble near tent city,”
processes to remove hazardous substances be- Duvar English (2023).
fore demolition, earthquake-generated CDWs
10.1126/science.adh4845
often include all building materials, as well as an-
ything that was in the building when it was dam-
aged. As a result, CDWs generated by earth-
quakes may contain hazardous substances such
as asbestos (5, 6), heavy metals, and organic
compounds (7, 8), posing higher risks to human
health and the environment.
Despite the risks, Turkey has not imple-
mented crucial occupational health and safety
measures during the demolition of buildings,
transportation, and management of CDWs. In-
stead of properly removing and transporting the
material to appropriate areas that do not pose a
risk, the government has established temporary
storage sites for earthquake debris near wet-
lands, forests, agricultural lands, residential ar-
eas, and temporary tent cities housing earth-
quake victims (9), in some cases leading to
protests (10). The absence of waste classification
measures for CDWs also impedes the safety of
recycling processes (6). The hasty and disor-
ganized management of CDWs increases the
risks they pose to public health and the environ-
ment.
Turkey must ensure that the speed of CDW
removal does not come at the expense of essen-
tial safety precautions. All waste should be cate-
gorized by construction year, and pollutants
should be identified through sample analysis.
Measures should be taken to prevent dust for-
mation, cover CDWs during transportation, and
establish on-site recycling facilities. Dumping
CDWs in the currently selected improper storage
locations should stop immediately. CDWs must
be stored in compliance with legislative stand-
ards for dust and chemical release. By taking
these steps, Turkey can better protect public
health and the environment.

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