Makhteshim neglects to report emission incident

The Makhteshim facility in southern Israel's Ramat Hovav industrial area failed to report a hazardous emission detected in its factory last week, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday.

According to an inquiry held by the Ramat Hovav industrial council, a malfunction in the factory's electrical system lead to the temporary storing of Azinophos-Methyl – a toxic chemical used in pesticides – in containers placed outside the factory.

The decision was supposed to avert any malfunction in the handling of the Azinophos-Methyl while the electrical system was down; but after four hours, two of the containers begun fermenting, emitting toxic fumes into the air.

In the initial incident report, head of the Ramat Hovav environmental unit, Oleg Grand, criticized the factory for failing to report the incident. The initial report came from the industrial council, he noted, adding that "an early report (to the environmental unit) about the electrical malfunction would have allowed us to create an "environmental casing" of the area and be better prepared for a possible emission."

Environment Minister Gidon Ezra appointed a team to investigate the incident. The team will be led by Shlomo Katz, head of the Environment Minister northern bureau.

MK Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor-Meimad), who heads the Knesset's Internal Affairs and Environment Committee and was made aware of the incident, noted that "the inquiry revealed what is an allegedly severe attempt to cover-up matters, bordering on criminal negligence. The hazardous materials industry cannot afford to keep such secrets. The Environment Committee will keep track of the investigation."

A statement by Makhteshim said: "The incident was just a few minutes long and caused no harm to either the employees or the premises, making it a minor one at that. Makhteshim is puzzled by the fact the so-called findings have be released despite the fact that the investigation in still ongoing."