Rights NGO Urges Greece To Release Test Results On Lead Contamination In Lesbos Camp

Rights NGO Urges Greece to Release Test Results on Lead Contamination in Lesbos Camp

An international rights group called on the Greek government on Wednesday to release test results about lead contamination in a temporary migrant camp on Lesbos island, so that residents and staff are aware of potential health risks

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2021) An international rights group called on the Greek government on Wednesday to release test results about lead contamination in a temporary migrant camp on Lesbos island, so that residents and staff are aware of potential health risks.

After a huge blaze in the Moria camp left nearly 13,000 migrants without shelter, Greece set up a temporary facility on a military firing range in Mavrovouni. It immediately raised concerns about the site's probable lead contamination. On Saturday, the Greek Ministry of Asylum and Migration announced that all 11 soil samples from residential areas showed lead levels below relevant standards, but the 12th sample taken in administrative area "had lead levels that exceeded the acceptable limit." The ministry maintains that the revealed levels do not require "special intervention or the revision of the construction plan."

Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed concerns that the Greek authorities did not specify "the locations where samples were collected or the actual test results." Nor they indicated adequate steps to mitigate the risk, such as "comprehensive testing and measures to remove people from areas that could be contaminated."

"Greek authorities should immediately release the results and testing plan to the public, and take measures to mitigate the risk to the health of camp residents and workers ... The authorities should ensure that residents and workers are informed about the results and measures to protect their health in languages they can understand," the rights group said.

HRW warned that lead degrades very slowly, and such sites can remain dangerous for decades. Children as well as pregnant and lactating women are believed to be under special risk.

Authorities, meanwhile, have yet to specify when a permanent camp will be ready to move people out of the temporary shelter. Construction has yet to start.