The Environmental Protection Ministry slaps an NIS 18.7 million (just over $5 million) fine on the Carmel Olefins factory in Haifa, northern Israel, for breaching its emissions permit.
The ministry accused the plant, part of the Bazan oil refinery complex, of dragging its feet for 18 months over installing a system to reduce emissions from its steam tanks. The ministry notes this is one of the highest fines it has ever imposed on a company or factory.
Carmel Olefins manufactures polypropylene and polyethylene for the plastics industry. In 2017, the company was fined NIS 2.17 million (then worth around $600,000) for violating the Clean Air Act. In 2022, the ministry filed a criminal indictment against it for emitting nearly 100 tons of potentially harmful gases into the air and violating both its emissions permit and its business license. Bazan denied the latter allegations.
In March 2022, the cabinet voted to shut down Bazan within a decade to allow for the rehabilitation of the polluted Haifa Bay and its transformation into a clean, green, residential and business hub.
We can't do this work alone.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
As a Times of Israel reporter, I’m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit’s. But my colleagues and I can't do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.
— Stav Levaton, military reporter
Yes, I'll join
Yes, I'll join
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
