Chemical leak at IMI plant in Tel Aviv suburb

The Ramat Hasharon municipality received hundreds of complaints from residents in the Neveh Magen and Morsha neighborhoods about an unpleasant smell and an accumulation of an unidentified substance in their eyes and throats Monday night.

Initial findings indicate that the noxious odor was caused as a result of a chlorine leak from an Israel Military Industries (IMI) plant which abuts the neighborhoods.

Itzik Rochberger, mayor of Ramat Hasharon, told Ynet that he arrived to the neighborhoods hit by the harsh odor and said he too was able to sense the unpleasant smell.

A resident of Neveh Magen, a mother of a three-year-old girl, said that the odor began to waft from the factory at around 11:30 pm. "At first, I didn't understand where the smell was coming from, but after it began getting stronger, I understood that it was coming from the IMI plant.

"I called the municipality and they told me they had received many calls about the issue and the police said they had already sent a patrol car to the scene," the Ramat Hasharon resident said.

The woman added that she feared that the odor emanating from the plant could be harmful to the health of those who were exposed to it. She claimed, "it was hard to breathe," and said she was "thinking of taking my daughter and getting out of here."

Residents in neighborhoods west of Neveh Magen described the odor as a "hovering cloud passing over the city."

Mayor Rochberger had harsh words for Israel Military Industries: "I am not prepared to let this pass quietly, I will do all I can to close this factory."

Ronit Epshtein, a spokeswoman for IMI, responded by saying: "A chlorine leak at a facility at the IMI plant in Ramat Hasharon caused a localized odor in the area. IMI CEO Avi Felder and other management officials arrived to the scene. From our point of view, the incident has ended."