This Sunday, June 2, building collapse in Turkey As a result, one person died and eight were injured of varying degrees of severity. The situation could have been even worse as debris fell near passengers preparing to board the minibus and barely escaped with their lives. Everything happened very suddenly, because there was nothing that could warn of danger: no explosion, no earthquake… Nothing. Authorities are looking into what could be the motive. There are still many doubts about this, but the fact that the building was built with Beach sand doesn’t really help.
This is not something unique to the Türkiye building. In 2009, earthquake in the Italian region of L’Aquila It turned out that many of the buildings in the area were built from beach sand. Later in 2021 Miami building collapse led to the same conclusion: perhaps he fell because he rose with the same material.
Beach sand is plentiful, cheap and easy to obtain. It is not surprising that it was often used in the construction of buildings in the past. Even today it is used in some places. Unfortunately, many reasons are now known why This is a very bad idea use it. The buildings that were built with it and are still standing may be in as much danger as the building in Turkey, the building in Miami, or all those that collapsed in Italy. Therefore, the authorities of each country must decide what can be done about it.
The Case of the Turkish Building
In the Turkey building there was five floors. The three lower ones were occupied by companies, and the upper two were occupied by houses. It was built 36 years ago.although some plants were added irregularly many years later.
These violations may be related to certain security measures. Add to this that it was built from beach sand, and it becomes clear that the risk of collapse was high. And this is not the only one. It is believed that Turkey currently has 200,000 buildings that repairs will be required to avoid accidents. There are 3 million people living there, so it’s important to do it quickly. Particular attention should be paid to those built from beach sand. But why?
Risks of building with beach sand
There are mainly two reasons why it is dangerous to build buildings from beach sand. First of all, it contains all kinds toxic substancesfrom plastics to chemical industry effluents.
This can endanger the people who build the buildings and those who subsequently live or work in them. But that is not all. Beach sand also usually contains a high concentration of salt. This contributes to the corrosion of metals in the building structure and can also damage the concrete.
Therefore, over time, buildings become much weaker and easier to destroy in the event of any disturbance. In the case of a building in Turkey, the absence of seismic movement was proven. Not even very small. There would be nothing strange in this, since the city of Istanbul, where the collapse occurred, is located not far from North Anatolian Fault, around which strong earthquakes usually occur. If he had fallen without the slightest shock, the situation in the event of an earthquake would have been catastrophic.
That’s why it’s so important to check all these buildings. It is also necessary to completely stop using beach sand in construction. Not only because of these risks, but also because of the harm it causes to marine ecosystems and the integrity of the beaches themselves. Every thing is in its place. Sand on the beach and buildings on foundations made of durable materials that do not disturb their structure.
Source: Hiper Textual
