Haifa Bay once again highly polluted by smoke and fire
In repeated instance of oversight, the torch sitting atop Oil Refineries LTD. began to exude black smoke and flames, in an attempt to return to regular emissions and work; citizens of Haifa and the city mayor complain of dangerous pollution, while the factory management assure that all activity is approved by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Haifa Bay was subjected yet again to high levels of pollution on Thursday, as a large, tall flame shot out of the torch atop Carmel Olefins, surrounded by dark black clouds of smoke billowed out. The incident was the result of a malfunction in the monomer facility in the Carmel Olefins factory in Oil Refineries LTD. Similar incidents had happened in recent weeks, due to which the factory’s managers were summoned to a hearing before the Ministry of Environmental Protection. This time, though the smoke stopped within a few minutes, the flame kept burning for an hour.
Tal Sadeh, a resident of the Haifa neighborhood of Neveh Sha’anan, filmed the smoke and fire. He mentioned how angry this made him, adding, “This is the view that those visiting Haifa are shown during Chol HaMoed Sukkot. Once again, the torch of Oil Refineries LTD. is causing panic.”
Omer Karpas, who noticed a similar situation with fire and black smoke coming out of the Haifa torch two weeks prior, said that Thursday’s emission was the third incident in the past month. “The refinery consistently has these oversights. The Ministry of Environmental Protection will continue to look into whether this constitutes an actual emissions offense. Since this time it went on for less than five minutes, over the span of two hours, it seems like it will not be considered an offense. But the public breathing it in doesn’t care about all that.” He stressed that “We shouldn’t move past this.”
In light of the repeated incidents, Haifa City Councilmember Sarit Golan-Steinberg issued a statement, saying that she has approached the deputy district manager in the Ministry of Environmental Protection but was told that a representative of the ministry sent to the site did not report on any smoke. “So I sent them the video and stills that I received,” said Golan-Steinberg. “We are witnessing a recurring oversight, and it looks like Oil Refineries LTD. Has lost control over its facilities. The only conclusion here is that the existence of these factories in populated areas is a health hazard. Toxic and cancerous gases are repeatedly released into the air. The Israeli government needs to halt all plans to expand the petrochemical industry and rethink how to move toward clean energy.”
The Ministry of Environmental Protection also issued a statement, saying, “One of the Carmel Olefins factories that is part of Oil Refineries LTD. in Haifa Bay has had a malfunction, which caused the factory’s torch to exude fire for several hours. The torch is used to handle any excess gas that is created as a result of an oversight, emergency or the halting of production in one of the plants. Representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection immediately arrived at the plant, and they are overseeing its operations and making sure that the use of raw materials will be minimal. The ministry takes the recent plethora of oversights at Oil Refineries LTD. very seriously. As a result of repeated instances of black smoke emissions from its smokestacks, the factory refraining from transferring information in full and failing to meet smokestack standards, its managers will be summoned to a meeting next week.”
Carmel Olefins stated that “Due to a disruption in regular activities of one of the facilities in Carmel Olefins, the torch is due to remain operational for several hours. The management and workers are doing everything they can to return to regular activity. … All activity is being done in full coordination with authorities.”
Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav called the Ministry of Environmental Protection “to immediately close down the Carmel Olefins factory, at least until they can figure out what is causing the repeated malfunctions. The government and ministry need to understand that the days of fines and reprimands must come to an end, and that they must secure the safety of the general public.” Following the previous incident, the city council summoned the Carmel Olefins managers to a hearing, prior to issuing a warrant to close down the factory.
He added that “The Haifa municipality is opposed to this and will do everything it can to prevent the expansion of these facilities or their activities.”
