Significant drop in industrial air pollution in past year, says Environment Ministry
There has been a significant and continued reduction in industrial air pollution in 2017, the Environmental Protection Ministry reported on Tuesday, although some pollution levels are still poor compared to Israel’s European neighbors.
According to the ministry, since 2012 there have been reductions ranging from 8% to 62% in air pollutant emissions, primarily as a result of emission restrictions imposed by the ministry following the implementation of the 2011 Clean Air Law and the increased use in natural gas, rather than coal, to produce electricity.
The key reasons behind the reduction in pollution, the report says, lie in significant decreases in emissions in key regions, including a decrease of 500 tons of emissions in the Haifa Bay and Mishor Rotem areas following the closure of factories belonging to Haifa Chemicals.
The ministry admits, however, that Israel still has a long way to go in terms of per capita nitrogen and sulfur oxide emissions compared to the country’s European Union neighbors.
The primary cause behind the oxide emissions are the coalfired power plants in Hadera and Ashkelon, which are operating without advanced pollution-reducing facilities.
Emissions of cancer-causing air pollutants, or pollutants suspected of being carcinogenic, rose slightly by 1% during 2017, but have decreased overall by 44% since 2012. The slight increase last year was primarily due to increased asphalt factory emissions.
Off-shore emissions from the Tamar natural-gas field, located 80 km. off the shore of Haifa, are expected to decrease by 98% in the first quarter of 2019 after the conclusion of construction work on pollution-reducing facilities at Israel’s only operational gas field. Due to its distance from the Israeli coast, its current emissions have a negligible impact on air quality onshore.
The Leviathan gas field, situated 130 km. from Haifa, is due to become operational by the end of 2019 but is not expected to produce pollutant emissions as the treatment of the natural gas will take place within a closed system.
Industrial plants with potential for high air pollution that have been required to obtain emission permits have reduced the emission of cancer-causing air pollutants, or pollutants suspected of being carcinogenic, by 5%.
The emission of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), such as benzene and ethanol, decreased by 15% in 2017, and by 8% overall since 2012.
In less promising news, Oil Refineries Ltd., Israel’s largest oil refinery which is also located in the Haifa Bay, has seen NMVOC emissions rise by 21% or 46 tons, and a 18% rise in cancer-causing air pollutants or pollutants suspected of being carcinogenic. The rise is primarily due to 843 leaks identified at the refinery during the last year.
Although the report primarily focused on air pollution, it also revealed that the quantity of pollutants being washed into the Mediterranean Sea has decreased by some 96% in 2017, following major upgrades to the Dan Region Sewage Treatment Plant (Shafdan).
“We will continue to advance the reduction of pollution through the clean transport revolution, the implementation of a program to prevent fires in open territory, and the implementation of a waste strategy,” said Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin.
“Understanding the Environmental Protection Ministry statistics enables the ministry to set policy and to update it according to the information gathered and assessed,” Elkin added.
The Manufacturers Association of Israel, which seeks to develop Israeli industry and promote the interests of manufacturers, welcomed the latest figures.
“The Manufacturers Association of Israel welcomes the Environmental Protection Ministry statistics, which prove the longterm industrial commitment to reducing emissions, including an annual investment worth over NIS 1 billion,” the group said in a statement.
Attorney Jameela Hardal Wakim, director of Citizens for the Environment, was one of several environmental group leaders that voiced her disappointment at the report.
“Like every year, the Environmental Protection Ministry emphasizes and underlines specific decreases in air pollution but ignores other, far more significant increases,” said Wakim.
“The report ignores continued violations by factories, and additional significant sources of emissions that are increasing such as burning waste, fires in open areas, industrial defects and more,” she added.
“In my opinion, it is high time for the ministry to admit that our environmental situation is poor, and it should concentrate more on action and investing resources in enforcement rather than publishing headlines that do not reflect reality.”
Haifa-based environmental group City Union Haifa Bay (Igud Arim Mifratz Haifa) sharply criticized the statistics relating to Oil Refineries Ltd.
“It is unacceptable that 843 leaks were identified from a single factory during a single year – with cumulative pollutant emissions of 59 tons. These are scandalous figures and the union will not permit them to become part of our daily routine.”