Iran-Made Plant-Based Bricks Able to Reduce Earthquake Losses

“We were able to produce plant-based bricks from palm tree wastes in a joint project between Islamic Azad University’s Arak branch and Zabol University of Medical Sciences,” said Fatemeh Torkizadeh, one of the researchers of this project.

“This brick has less weight than the bricks that are currently used in the construction of structures. The ordinary bricks weigh 1.2kg while the plant-based bricks weigh 300 grams,” she added.

“Application of these bricks in structures to a large extent reduces the loss of life due to the collapse of debris caused by the earthquake,” Torkizadeh said.

Iran experiences frequent seismic activity as it sits where two major tectonic plates meet.

The earthquakes have sometimes turned disastrous over the past years. In 2003, more than 26,000 people lost their lives following a major quake that ruined the ancient city of Bam in Eastern Iran. In 1990, a 7.4-magnitude quake in Northern Iran killed thousands of people.

At least two other significant quakes struck the country in 2005 and 2012, which killed a total of about 1,000 people.

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