아래 내용은 Al Jazeera의 2024년 10월 8일 기사입니다.
---------------------------------------------------
이스라엘의 가자 지구 폭격으로 주민들에게 석면이 노출되고 있습니다.
유엔에 따르면 가자 전역에 80만톤의 폭격 잔해가 석면으로 오염되어 있다고 합니다.
지난 1년간의 폭격으로 작고 가벼운 입자가 공기 중에 부유하고 그것을 흡입하면 향후 수십년간 암 발생자가 있을 것이라고 전문가들은 말합니다.
이것은 가자 지구에 갇혀있는 팔레스타인들에게 내려진 사형 선고라며, 석면 전문가인 로저 윌리가 말했습니다.
-----------------------------------------------------
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
(이하 생략)
위 내용의 원문은 아래 링크를 클릭하세요.
‘Death sentence’: Asbestos released by Israel’s bombs will kill for decades
