Debate over asbestos diffusion heats up in Turkish capital Ankara

The debate over potential diffusion of asbestos into the air as part of the dismantling work for a decades-old factory in central Ankara, which is certified of bearing 350 tons of the carcinogenic material inside its building, is heating up, as professional chambers and Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek make contradicting statements. 

Both the Ankara bureau of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects' (TMMOB) and the Chamber of Chemical Engineers (KMO) said a quarantine area must immediately be declared around the factory, which contains asbestos, and applied to court for a halt to the dismantling process. However, the controversial Mayor Gökçek denied the claims presented by the chambers.

The TMMOB released air-based asbestos surface measurements that were conducted close to the factory and said amphibole, which is the most dangerous asbestos type, was determined to be at a dangerously high amount in the area. 

Noting that the report and accompanying visuals would be presented to the court, Tezcan Karakuş Candan, the head of the TMMOB's Ankara branch, said the area should be urgently placed under quarantine as the process of decontamination is carried out. 

The chamber also called on the Education Ministry to close all schools around the factory until the dismantling work is complete. 

The Ankara Municipality issued a statement saying it had taken widespread measures against the potential diffusion of asbestos into the air at the coal gas factory in the Maltepe neighborhood. It added that the dismantling works had begun in garage areas and a depot that do not contain asbestos.

Ankara Mayor Gökçek previously said the operation was aimed at "preventing a problem for Ankara and a leakage that it might be...