Haifa Chemicals must empty its 12,000-ton ammonia storage tank within 10 days, the Haifa Local Affairs Court ruled on Sunday, February 12. Environmental and Hadash activists have long seen the ammonia container, located in the Haifa Bay Industrial Zone, as a “ticking time bomb.” The ammonia processing and storage facility was established in 1989. It stores all the ammonia imported by Israel. Hadash MK Dov Khenin (Joint List), Chairman of the Knesset’s Social-Environmental lobby, said “the decision was a step in the right direction and demonstrates that more and more people understand the need to reduce the presence of pollutants.”
The ammonia tank in the Haifa Bay – the red Photoshop grafitee on the tank reads “We are scared.” (Photo: Tzlalul)
Khenin, who headed the Subcommittee for Examining Planning and Environment Issues at Haifa Bay during the previous (19th) Knesset, said, “The recommendations of the subcommittee were supported by the relevant officials at a local and national level and should serves as a road map for neutralizing the environmental bomb threatening the lives and health of local residents.”
Following the Haifa Municipality’s appeal last week for the container to cease operation, a Haifa Local Affairs Court judge issued a temporary closure order, and on Thursday afternoon, February 9, the court extended closure pending further discussion on Sunday. The municipality filed the appeal following the publication of a report, prepared by a team of researchers, detailing the security risks of the container’s presence in the region. The tank was slated to be moved to a less-populated location, the chemical industrial park at Mishor Rotem in the Negev, but the Environmental Protection Ministry announced in November that the tendering process for the transfer “had failed.” Ammonia is a highly toxic gas; exposure of just a 0.5% concentration can cause death in five-to-10 minutes, the report explained. Ordinary homes cannot be completely sealed off from ammonia and, after the gas leaks into a room, residents can only survive for a few hours.
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