Oil refineries, phosphate mines, perform worst on environmental impact index
12th annual index scores environment risk posed by 125 large industrial plants belonging to 46 public and government companies
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
The Ashdod oil refinery and ICL Rotem (Rotem Ampert) phosphate mines in southern Israel, followed by the Bazan oil refineries in the north, are the most environmentally damaging companies, according to the 12th annual Environmental Impact Index, published Thursday.
They are followed, in the top five, by the Dan Region Wastewater Treatment Plant (Shafdan) in central Petah Tikva, Carmel Olefins in the northern city of Haifa, which manufactures polypropylene and polyethylene for the plastics industry, and the Dead Sea Works, which extracts phosphate, potash, bromine, and magnesium from the Dead Sea.
The index, covering 2022 to 2023, examines the environmental risk posed by 125 large industrial plants belonging to 46 public and government companies and is published by the Environment Ministry.
The weighting combines data on emissions with the companies’ environmental record, taking offenses and punishments such as fines and convictions into account.
The Ashdod refinery plant topped the worst offenders list for the first time because of a fine imposed in 2023 for releasing pollutants into the environment and emitting black smoke. It was also called to a hearing following harmful benzene and sulfur oxide emissions.
On several occasions, the refinery plant failed to report abnormalities and malfunctions as required, as well as an abnormality in benzene emissions from 2021 to 2022. From August 2023, the Ashdod refinery separated from Paz Oil and became an independent public company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
Idan Ofer’s ICL Rotem plant was fined for late submission of a rehabilitation plan for a gypsum pile, as well as a leachate leak onto exposed soil. It also violated regulations on wastewater discharge, infrastructure, and air pollution.
The Bazan oil refineries, set to close at the end of the decade as part of an overhaul of the Haifa Bay, scored poorly over a warning and hearing for air and sea emission violations, a 2021 benzene leak, a 2022 hearing for a hydrogen gas leak, and excessive air pollution. Also considered was a criminal conviction in 2020 following a fire and malfunction of a hazardous materials container.
The Dan Region Wastewater Treatment Plant’s ranking rocketed up from 13th in the 2022 index to fourth, thanks to polluting emissions. The ministry noted that the plant corrected all its mistakes immediately after their discovery.
The Tamar gas platform was ranked seventh worst, up from 16th place in the 2022 index, because of a hydraulic fluid discharge into the sea in 2022, followed by a hearing, and a warning in 2023 for a similar offense. Other factors considered included a methanol leak, maintenance problems, oil discharge from an untightened connector, failure to monitor discharges into the sea, and failure to submit forms as required.
