Unusual benzene concentrations measured in Haifa Bay – the Association of Cities demands immediate evacuation of benzene

(haipo) Unusual concentrations of benzene, 300 times higher than background values, were measured last weekend in Haifa Bay and at the Social High School in Kiryat Ata. The Haifa Bay Cities Association for Environmental Protection demands that Energy Minister Eli Cohen and the Ministry of Energy mobilize to implement the decision to evacuate the benzene reservoir, and warns that 2040 cannot become the target year for evacuation.

Record levels of carcinogenic substances were measured in schools and the ZEN compound.

On September 3 and 4, the mobile monitoring station near the BN complex measured a maximum half-hour value of 336 micrograms per cubic meter. The permanent 2UV monitoring system, which measures benzene concentrations in the air in the Bay Area, measured a maximum value of 678 micrograms per cubic meter. The mobile stationed at the Social High School in Kiryat Ata measured 31 micrograms per cubic meter. These are values ​​that are 300 times higher and even higher than the background values.

These findings were recorded while the Ministry of Energy is setting the year 2040 as the horizon for planning the fuel economy, which raises the concerns of the Association of Cities that this is a real postponement of the closing date of the gas station.

"The need for change is not a future scenario – it is happening now"

Deputy and Acting Mayor of Haifa and Chairman of the Haifa Bay Cities Association for Environmental Protection, Avihu Hahn, said he is demanding that Energy Minister Eli Cohen and the Ministry of Energy mobilize to remove the hazard in the heart of the metropolis and present a timetable for the immediate implementation of the evacuation decision. According to him, "The recent anomalies prove that the need for change is not a future scenario. It is happening now, and therefore the planning must also include a clear date for ceasing activity."
Hahn added that the Energy Ministry's plan to build a "green" and "hybrid" refinery is "an insult to the intelligence of all of us," noting that the proposals for green diesel, sustainable jet fuel, synthetic fuels, or blue and green hydrogen are all technologies in the research and development process, and none of them are close to replacing a refinery. According to Hahn, "the only solution that will maintain the continuity of the energy economy is distributed storage of distillates and the promotion of renewable energies," adding that "the folly of the Energy Ministry and the Israeli National Petroleum Corporation's recommendation to build another refinery, in light of the clear danger of shutting down refineries in an emergency, is blatant."

"We will continue to fight until a deadline for closure is set."

Director General of the Haifa Bay Cities Association for Environmental Protection, Dr. Lihi Shahar Berman, She said that the significance of the Ministry of Energy's work is the postponement of the closure of the ZEN by at least 15 years. According to her, "At the same time as this work was published, record levels of carcinogenic substances were measured at the Kiryat Ata Social High School. Values ​​that are 300 times higher than background levels."
Dr. Shahar Berman added that as long as the Minister of Energy does not declare a target date for closing the ZEN, the union will continue to fight ZEN's attempts to add additional polluting facilities to the complex.