MANAGEMENT OF DEBRIS WASTE AND THE INVISIBLE PROBLEM: AIR POLLUTION
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Edip AVŞAR
Head of the Department of Disaster and Emergency Management
Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University
The earthquake disaster we have experienced is a large-scale catastrophe. First of all, I wish a speedy recovery to the injured and God’s mercy upon our citizens who lost their lives. My condolences to our nation.
By definition, disasters are events that exceed the capacity of local administrations to cope with using their own resources. Therefore, when such events occur, it is not possible to manage them solely with local means. Risk assessment studies related to disasters are of great importance. These studies aim to foresee potential events and to prevent them from turning into disasters by taking precautions that eliminate or minimize possible damages.
In our country, the potential for both natural and technological disasters is always present. For this reason, it has once again become clear, through our recent experience, that priority must be given to risk management efforts.
Once search and rescue operations are completed, efforts begin to heal the wounds in the region and to restore normal life. However, this process must also be carried out very carefully. In the context of meeting the urgent needs of earthquake victims, the most pressing issues are temporary shelter, heating, safe drinking water, food supply, and sanitary and hygienic necessities. Efforts continue in the region to meet these needs.
To return to normal life, debris removal operations have begun. This situation presents another major challenge: the management of debris and demolition waste. It is estimated that around 20,000 buildings have collapsed and about 90,000 more will need to be demolished. Considering the buildings that have not yet been assessed, this number may increase further. Estimates indicate that such a scale of destruction could generate approximately 50 to 110 million tons of waste. To put this in perspective, experts note that this amount of debris would be comparable in size to Mount Erciyes, the fifth-largest mountain in Turkey. For another comparison, the total annual household waste generated by Turkey’s 85 million citizens is about 30–35 million tons, meaning that the debris produced by this earthquake is several times higher than the country’s total annual waste. Clearly, it is not possible to store or handle such a massive volume of debris all at once in a single location.
According to the current regulation—the Regulation on the Control of Excavation Soil, Construction and Demolition Waste—the management of disaster-generated waste must be carried out by crisis centers established by provincial governorships, and local municipalities in the affected areas also have responsibilities within this framework. It is important that the waste be transported to temporary storage sites, where recyclable materials such as iron, steel, plastic, aluminum, household items, and wood are separated for recovery. Remaining rubble can be reused in road fillings or concrete production. Abandoned or damaged areas such as disused mines can serve as temporary storage sites. By maximizing the recycling and reuse of waste materials, the total amount requiring disposal will decrease, making debris management much easier.
For the final disposal of residual materials, ensuring ground impermeability is crucial. This can be achieved by using clay fill and lining with membranes. Indeed, debris often contains hazardous waste that cannot easily be separated—such as lighting devices (bulbs, fluorescent lamps), batteries, toners, paints, medicines, and chemical cleaning agents. This list could be extended further. The heavy metals, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and various pollutants contained in these materials can leach into soil and water, posing serious risks to human and environmental health. Therefore, final disposal sites should be carefully selected—preferably in degraded areas like old mines, and located far from water basins, agricultural lands, and residential zones.
Another crucial point often overlooked during debris removal is air quality protection. Dust generated during these operations negatively affects air quality, creating an additional environmental problem. Therefore, during demolition and debris handling, spraying water to suppress dust should be applied as much as possible. Moreover, in older buildings, asbestos, which was used as an insulating material, may be released into the air. Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause severe health problems, including cancer. The demolition of such buildings must therefore be handled with particular care, with support from qualified experts.
Low temperatures in the region have also created a pressing need for heating among earthquake survivors. The uncontrolled burning of various materials for heating, combined with dust from debris removal, causes a rapid deterioration in air quality. If not prevented, this may lead to an increase in respiratory diseases among residents. Therefore, ensuring access to electricity and promoting the use of electric heaters, as well as providing high-quality and compliant fuels to the region, are of critical importance in mitigating this problem.