Hadash MK Dov Khenin on Saturday morning called for increased supervision of hazardous materials, after two men working at a privatized oil refinery owned by “Paz” in Ashdod died earlier in the day after inhaling toxic fumes. “We can’t reconcile ourselves to a situation in which work accidents involving dangerous materials become the standard, and cost human lives over and over,” he said. “We must change the standard, strengthen enforcement, and punish those responsible for these disasters.” A Maged David Adom emergency crew has pronounced the death of two men, aged 45 and 25, who inhaled a hazardous gas during their work at an Ashdod plant.

Police launched an investigation into the cause of the workers’ deaths. The victims, aged 25 and 45, had worked the Friday night shift and had gone missing. They were found lying on the ground Saturday morning. Police suspected the cause of their deaths was a work accident, not criminal activity. The employees may have inhaled the poisonous gas after trying to fix a leak. Yigal Zohar, head of the Ashkelon firefighters, which also arrived at the scene, said the victims may have been unprotected when they were exposed to the hazardous material for a minute or two.

The oil refinery in Ashdod (Archive photo)

Another work accident — in which six people were injured and three were arrested for negligence that led to the incident — took place in Ra’anana’s industrial zone last year. In that accident, an explosion and then a series of smaller blasts occurred in the city’s main industrial thoroughfare. Hazardous materials were also located on the premises.