During a Higher Defense Council meeting on Friday, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab revealed the discovery of more harmful materials that can post grave danger to Lebanon.
He stated that the German company Combilift reported finding dangerous chemicals at the Zahran Oil Installations in south Lebanon.
Combilift is the same company that found and safely stored dangerous substances at the Beirut Port after the blast. The new substances, they said, could have caused a “second bomb”.
After the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission examined the report it became clear that these materials are highly pure nuclear materials and pose a danger to Lebanon, according to Diab.
Al-Jadeed reported that the radioactive nuclear materials date back to before 1970 when the facility was managed by an American company.
Diab has called for immediate action to deal with the hazardous substances.
Update: Soon after we published this, Bilal Nsouli, the head of the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission, was quoted by Lebanon24 saying that the materials were not dangerous as they are not explosive nor flammable.
Nsouli also said that he informed the Energy Ministry about how to deal with the materials and that he was surprised the issue was even an item during the Higher Defense Council meeting.
