The Knesset rejected Wednesday, Febuary 3, a proposal to set up a parliamentary investigative committee to probe an alleged link between infant disorders and pollution caused by heavy industry in the Haifa region. Thirty-five members of Knesset voted against the proposal, while 34 voted in favor. The proposal followed media reports on a University of Haifa study that appeared to show a link between high pollution levels in the Haifa area and birth defects, including infants with smaller than average heads.
MK Ayman Odeh (first from left) during a visit by Hadash MKs
to the Nazareth’s hospital, last Thursday (Photo: Al Ittihad)
However, the Health Ministry released data Wednesday indicating that the measurements for the circumference of infants’ heads in the Haifa area were not significantly different than those of the national average. According to the data, which was released at the request of the Ynet news site, average skull size for male newborns in the Haifa district was 34.7 centimeter, compared to a national average of 34.68 centimeter, while the circumference for female infants’ heads was 34.03 centimeter, as opposed to the national average of 34.09 centimeter.
The ministry emphasized, however, that the information was based on a preliminary evaluation of the subject, and therefore does not necessarily refute findings by University of Haifa researchers, which suggest that disorders such as smaller-than-average heads and relatively low weight in newborns in Haifa were linked to pollution in the area.
The University of Haifa study, was commissioned by the Health and Environmental Protection ministries, and was only due to be published later this year. The study identifies Kiryat Haim, Kiryat Bialik and southeast Kiryat Tivon as the epicenters of pollution-related disorders, and says residents there are five times more likely to develop lung cancer and lymphoma than those living elsewhere in Israel. The circumference of some infants’ heads in those areas was recorded at 20-30 percent less than elsewhere, the researchers found. The Haifa area, hemmed in by the Carmel Mountains, is home to some of the heaviest industry in the country, and residents there have long complained of health issues and severe pollution.
During a speech on Wednesday at the Knesset, Joint List chairman MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) urged the government to declare the Haifa Bay area as a polluted region, and take the necessary steps to ensure the health and safety of the residents of the area. “As a resident of Haifa and as a father I cannot see the existing environmental danger in the region as anything but a direct threat to the health of my children,” Odeh said. “The government should immediately declare the Haifa Bay area as a region struck by pollution, and act in accordance with the law and stop all promotion of new polluting projects.”
Related:
New Study: Infant Disorders Linked to Pollution in Haifa Bay
