Istanbul: a landmine

       The explosion in the Aktif Kimya plant which produces methyl ethyl ketone peroxide solution and the Demet paint factory in Kurtkoy, Pendik, revealed just how dangerous living in Istanbul could be. While investigations into the incident in which 6 were killed and 21 injured continue, the magnitude of the threat from similar plants and factories proves to be rather excessive.
       Staying alive in Istanbul, where production and storage facilities of dangerous chemical substances are set up in residential areas, seems to be a miracle.
       Kadem Karaagac, Istanbul Branch Secretary of the Chamber of City Planning, pointed out that municipalities ignored the building of certain unlicensed businesses to gain profits.
       In Sanayi Mahallesi for example, apartment buildings co-exist with plants that contain inflammables which could erase all of Kurtkoy off the map in an explosion.
       Deputy Chairperson for the local Municipality of Perdik Halil Ibrahim Topal, said that there were many illegal dwellings without permits in Pendik, officially an industrial area. "However," he adds, "some dwellers have title deeds, too."