‘Death sentence’: Asbestos released by Israel’s bombs will kill for decades

Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza has unleashed yet another deadly, but silent enemy on the people there – asbestos.

A mineral that poses little risk to humans when undisturbed but that is highly carcinogenic when dispersed and released into the atmosphere, asbestos is present throughout much of Gaza’s structures.

Over the past year, Israel’s bombs have caused vast amounts of it to be broken into tiny, airborne particles, which can potentially cause cancer in those who breathe it in, leading experts to say cases of cancer will likely be reported “for decades” in Gaza.

According to United Nations estimates, some 800,000 tonnes of the bombed-out debris across Gaza may be contaminated with asbestos.

This is a “death sentence” for Palestinians trapped in Gaza, leading asbestos expert Roger Willey told Al Jazeera.

‘𝐀 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝’

The asbestos exposure of people caught in the aftermath of each of Israel’s bombing raids can be compared to that around the World Trade Center when it collapsed in New York City on September 11, 2001, Willey said.

Years later, it became apparent that toxic chemicals, including asbestos, were in the dust clouds.

“I made a prediction then [in 2001] that more people would die from the asbestos-related diseases than were killed in the September 11 attacks,” Willey said.

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𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜: 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞
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𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺, 𝟰,𝟯𝟰𝟯 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮,𝟵𝟳𝟰 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟭.

“It’s going to be exactly the same in Gaza,” Willey continued.

“[A]irborne concentrations [of asbestos] … will be enormously high, and that is guaranteed mesothelioma,” Willey said, referring to a cancer that commonly forms in the lining around the lungs or abdomen.

Asbestos exposure can also result in cancers of the lung, larynx and ovaries as well as asbestosis, which the US National Cancer Institute describes as an “inflammatory condition affecting the lungs that can cause shortness of breath, coughing and permanent lung damage”.

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𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐓𝐂 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐬-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞.
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𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬, 𝐚 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰-𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 ‘𝐃𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲’ [File: Stan Honda/AFP Photo]
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The Dust Lady died of stomach cancer in 2015.

“The rescue crews on September 11 … were exposed to asbestos particles for 10 to 12 hours before continuing the next day,” Willey said.

“That’s a death sentence… that’s going to be the same for the people in Gaza.”

The comparison to September 11 is important as that was one of the only incidents in which it was possible to study asbestos exposure after an explosion, said Liz Darlison, CEO of the charity Mesothelioma UK.

“It’s very easy to be preoccupied with the immediate aftermath” of the destruction, she said.

Immediate dangers posed by ground fighting and aerial bombardments always take precedence over long-term hazards, she noted.

However, the long-term effects of asbestos exposure will constitute a “tragedy that will unfold in the years ahead”, Darlison said.

In 2016, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said occupational asbestos exposure had caused an estimated 209,481 deaths – more than 70 percent of all deaths from work-related cancers.

𝐔𝐛𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐠𝐞𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐬

Due to its insulating and fireproofing qualities, asbestos was widely used in construction until the late 1980s, when countries worldwide, including Israel, began introducing restrictions. Israel fully banned the use of asbestos in buildings in 2011.

Since its war on the besieged enclave began, Israel has routinely bombed Gaza’s refugee camps where, UNEP told Al Jazeera, asbestos was found “in the older buildings and temporary sheds and extensions found in the refugee camps”.

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𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜: 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐬
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In December, 90 people were killed and more than 100 injured in an attack on Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

In June, Israel killed more than 270 Palestinians and injured around 700 others in a raid on Nuseirat refugee camp.

In 2009, UNEP said it found one of the most dangerous types of asbestos, blue asbestos (crocidolite), in the same damaged buildings and sheds in the refugee camps of Gaza, as well as in sewage pipes, treatment stations and livestock facilities.

𝐍𝐨 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞, 𝐧𝐨 ‘𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞’ 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞

The best thing to do if asbestos is disturbed and becomes airborne is to “get in a car and drive as far away from it as possible”, Willey said.

A solution that is simply not possible for the more than two million Palestinians crammed in the enclave of about 365 square kilometres (141sq miles) of which, the UN has warned, only 11 percent remains considered a safe zone.

Furthermore, adequate clean-up processes can take years and must be carried out by professionals, Willey said.

In Gaza now, he said: “You’ve got smashed asbestos pieces on the ground, in the air from the explosion, and people are walking through it and kicking it up all the time, so it’ll never come back to a safe environment until it’s all cleared away”.

Darlison said after an explosion that releases asbestos, there would simply be no “safe level of exposure”.

“What you need is a big sign with a skull and crossbones saying ‘Do not enter’, and only specialists wearing full decontamination equipment allowed near the exposure,” she said.

Acutely aware of the damage asbestos can cause, Darlison said she “cannot bear” to watch the smoke billowing from the explosions in Gaza.

“It’s heartbreaking to know that the legacy of this war will continue for many years,” she said.

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𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 5 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒐 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌 :
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/8/death-sentence-asbestos-released-by-israels-bombs-will-kill-generations