Attention remains focused on the silos, from which clouds of dust have risen, while security forces work to protect the area due to the possibility of the silos collapsing at any moment. Environment Minister of the caretaker government, Dr. Nasser Yasin, told "An-Nahar" that "there were 6,500 tons of grain present, and we managed to remove it with the support of the French embassy and treated it in an environmentally sound manner, later converting the grain into industrial wood." He pointed out that "thousands of tons are still inside the silos, including 3,000 tons of wheat in the silos, 900 tons of which are in the silos that burned. This is a significant amount that is subject to fermentation and spontaneous combustion due to weather conditions. There is a scientific committee monitoring the situation and has advised against spraying water to avoid increasing humidity levels, which could lead to more ignition."
He mentioned that "the condition of the silos on the northern side has deteriorated, and there are sensors monitoring the conditions of the silos, while the southern side remains stable," noting that "the bending has increased in recent days, which may lead to parts of the northern side collapsing." In response to a question about the timing and extent of the collapse, Yasin said, "We cannot know when the silos will fall, nor do we know the extent of the fall, but we are monitoring the changes that increase over time. Previously, we detected a bending of 2 mm in 24 hours, and the bending remained at that figure for a year. However, in recent weeks, movement has noticeably increased, with sensors recording a bending of 2.5 mm per hour instead of over 24 hours, and this movement is increasing."
Regarding the public safety guidelines in the event of a collapse and the need to evacuate surrounding areas, Yasin indicated that "there is no need to evacuate residents from nearby areas." He revealed that he has been in contact with Electricité du Liban to try to provide electricity to areas near the port within a distance of 1,500 meters, to ensure cooling under the hot weather conditions, which will be affected by dust in the event of a collapse, preventing windows from being opened, but there has been no response so far. Yasin pointed out that "the Beirut port issue has been among my priorities and on my agenda since the formation of the government, especially when I learned that large quantities of grain outside the silos were fermenting due to heat and weather conditions."
