"I've seen no concrete data linking our industries with increased morbidity in the Haifa Bay area. Local residents are in no danger, period," asserts Eli Abramov, chairman of the Petrochemical Industries Association.
Abramov, one of the leading figures in Israel's petrochemical industries, stands by his position, unpopular as it has always been, even in the wake of the devastating Aug. 4 explosion in the Port of Beirut, where 2,700 ton of ammonium nitrate exploded, causing at least 190 deaths, 6,500 injuries, $15 billion in property damage, and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless.
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Environmental groups have been trying to remove the chemical industries from the bay for years. The campaign, driven by environmental and security concerns – the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorist group often threatens to target the area, something that could bring about hundreds of thousands of casualties from a single missile strike – gained speed after one of the iconic white chimneys collapsed, sparking fears for the integrity of the entire facility.
The Beirut explosion has kicked the campaign into even higher gear, with residents and environmental groups alike warning that the area could suffer a similar fate.
"The event in Lebanon illustrates the danger of having concentrations of hazardous materials near a dense population center, and underscores the urgent need to close the flammable, volatile industries," Dr. Revital Goldschmidt of the Environmental Research Center in Haifa said.
Abramov vehemently disagrees with those claiming the petrochemical industries pose a threat to the area's residents, calling the campaign against them "character assassination" and "terrorism."
He believes that public officials have joint this campaign, pointing the finger especially at Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel, who said the chimney's collapse marked "the beginning of the end" for the chemical industries in the bay, and Haifa Mayor Einat Kalisch-Rotem, who, following the explosion in Beirut, warned that "Haifa could be next."
Abramov finds these types of statements infuriating.
"There is no real reason to close these facilities. Overseas – in France, Italy and Germany – oil refineries, ammonia processing facilities, and petrochemicals factories are located in cities," he says.
Some of the environmental groups "have taken a page out of terrorist groups' book to achieve their goal. They breed public panic which translates into public pressure on the government," he says.
"This is what happened with the fight against the gas rig [off Haifa's shores]. They created massive public panic over the issue with no facts to support it. I expect the government not to capitulate to them – just as it doesn't capitulate to terrorist organizations."
Abramov cites, among other things, findings by the Environmental Protection Ministry according to which there is no unusual pollution in the Haifa Bay area. Not only that between 2015 and 2018, there was a 56% decrease in emissions. More recent data shows that figure is now well into the 70%ff for the 70% and even more districts.
Recent data, he says, suggests that traffic – not the petrochemical facilities – has the greatest contribution to air pollution in the bay area.
"It's so easy to say the words 'polluting industries,' suggesting there's no oversight or regulation. Israel has some of the strictest industry regulations in the world.
"There is so much demagogy; so much disinformation. It makes me sick. Instead of thinking how to reduce gridlocks and traffic congestion and how to streamline maritime traffic, it's easier to take on Bazan [formerly the Israel Oil Refineries] because they're the 'tycoons.' But the truth is many of the people how are Bazan stakeholders are people like you and me, who simply invest in the stock market."
Q: Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said that the chimney's collapse was "the beginning of the end" for Bazan.
"The chimney is a symbol and it has never created pollution. Facilities have to be judged professionally, not as a knee-jerk reaction. Unfortunately, the minister recited a populist statement with which even senior officials in her office disagree.
"The professional echelon in the Environmental Protection Ministry knows the truth and the truth is that over the past decade there has been a dramatic decrease in emission levels," he asserted. "That didn't happen on its own. It happened because the facilities invest billions of shekels so we can live in as clean an environment as possible."
Minister Gila Gamliel said in response that "the billions that the factories spend on preventing air pollution should be invested in renewable energy, which will prevent layoffs and create thousands of new jobs."
Q: What do you say to the residents of the northern town of Kiryat Tivon, whose homes overlook the bay and where unusually high cancer morbidity has occurred?
"Has someone ever performed a professional review that showed that the [petrochemical] industry is responsible for it? What about illegal charcoal and waste that go untreated? It is certainly possible that today's morbidity is due to pollution emitted by factories in the past, but these days, Israel adheres to the strictest regulations and standards.
"I met with the German regulator of refineries, and he himself told me that the standard in Israel does not fall short of what they have in Germany, where the factories are very close to big cities."
Q: Last year's state comptroller's report on this issue contradicts almost everything you say.
"I'm not dismissing the state comptroller and if any irregularities are found I'm all for addressing them," Abramov clarifies. "I'm also all for penalizing and even closing down factories that fail to meet the regulations and pollute the environment. But the claim that we have no way of accurately monitoring emissions is simply untrue. The Environmental Protection Ministry conducts rigorous surveys and European agencies' reports also found that there is no risk [to the population] in the Haifa Bay area."
Q: The Beirut disaster raised no concerns in your eyes?
"That's another myth," Abramov asserts. "There's no resemblance whatsoever between the industries in Haifa and what happened in Beirut – not in the type of material stored, which nearly none of the plants in Israel have, and not in the level of storage," he explained, referring to allegations in Lebanon that the ammonium nitrate that caused the catastrophic explosion in the Lebanese capital was very poorly stored.
" In Israel, every [hazardous] material is regulated by professional bodies, down to gram amounts. They [the government] shuttered the thriving ammonia plant in Haifa as a result of public pressure and populism, which had no basis in reality.
"In my conversations with professionals and members of the National Security Council the conclusion was that there is no real threat," he insists."
Q: A separate report by the McKinsey management consulting company recommended the area be converted for real estate purposes.
"This report is bogus. It's not based on data but on unfounded hypotheses. They [interested parties] want to build residential buildings there, but they clearly haven't given a thought to where all the people employed [in the bay] would work if the industry was eliminated. You need to understand that we are fighting Haifa's war."
Q: Do you have decision-makers' ear?
"Unfortunately, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's economic adviser, National Economic Council Director Avi Simhon relies on McKinsey's report, but I'm glad that the prime minister ordered to form an inter-ministerial team to examine the future of the industry in the bay."
When speaking of environ meal groups, Abramov's gripe seems to be mainly with Green Course, which has been one of the most vocal opponents to the Haifa Bay housing the petrochemical industries.
Responding to the allegations, Green Course said, "By comparing us to a terrorism organization Abramov is effectively encouraging violence against us. This is yet another proof of the violent tactics exercised by Israel's polluting industries.
"We are considering legal recourse against him and we call on the head of the Manufacturers Association of Israel [Dr. Ron Tomer] to denounce these statements and fire Abramov without delay."
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