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Destruction of marine life

activists of Greenpeace, the international pressure group, have raised concerns about toxic sludge being dumped in the Mediterranean sea near Selaata, off the Lebanese coast. The sludge, dumped by the Lebanese Chemical Company (lcc), has destroyed most of the area's sea life. Greenpeace has urged the Lebanese environment ministry to stop lcc from using the Mediterranean as a dumping ground. "The silence of the Lebanese authorities continues to endorse the environmental degradation and health hazards posed by the activities of lcc,' they alleged.

lcc has been discharging toxic sludge, phosphogypsum, along with 25,000 cubic metres of acidic cooling water, daily into the bay of Selaata since 1957. "Lebanon, like all other developing countries, must realise that economic development must not take place at the cost of the environment,' said Zeina al-Hajj, Greenpeace campaigner in Lebanon.

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