The Haifa District Court orders an ammonia tank to be emptied by next month, rejecting an appeal by the chemical company that sought to overturn a February court order to empty the storage facility.
In the court’s final decision on the matter, Judge Tamar Sharon Netanel cites the danger the chemical tank situated on the Haifa bay posed to hundreds of thousands of local residents.
“The potential damage that could be caused is unacceptable by any standard,” Netal writes in the court’s final decision on the matter. “This is an issue that threatens the loss of human life, and the health of hundreds of thousands of people.”
The ammonia storage tank in the northern city of Haifa. (Courtesy of Environmental Protection Ministry)
The ruling noted the economic interests of Haifa Chemicals’ local facility, but says the potential public health crisis outweighed any financial loss they may incur.
The Haifa Group, a fertilizer producer that operates the tank, was given until April 1 to empty the storage facility. The court also ruled the facility would not be allowed to be used to store ammonia in the future.
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