Residents of Tel Aviv complain of a harsh chlorine-like substance that could be felt in the air.
By Ilan Lior and Zafrir Rinat

Residents of Tel Aviv, Gush Dan and central Israel complained Thursday morning of a harsh chemical substance that could be felt in the air.

Many people described the smell as similar to the smell of chlorine. Initially, the Home Front Command believed the source of the smell could be gas drilling near Nitzanim in southern Israel. However, the claims were proven wrong. No special instructions were given to the residents, as the Ministry of the Environment stated that no dangerous substances were detected.

Residents who attempted to call the Tel Aviv Municipality to complain received an automated message according to which professionals were checking the issue of an “unknown smell,” and that there is “no need to report it, as media outlets will update throughout the day.”

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/mysterious-smell-envelops-central-israel-tel-aviv-municipality-investigating-source-1.427978

Ministry denies drilling causing chemical smell – Jerusalem Post

The Environmental Protection Ministry on Thursday denied a report from Home Front Command saying that drilling was the source of a mysterious chemical smell in the Tel Aviv region.

“We are not dealing with rumors,” the spokesman said. “There is no gas drilling in Nitzanim. The army is just saying it.”

He added that the ministry is still looking into the problem, hoping to find its source with 100% accuracy, but said there is no telling when they will know for sure.

Home Front Command said earlier that the chlorine-like smell was the result of drilling near the Nitzanim area, Army Radio reported.

Residents in the Gush Dan region complained to local authorities on Thursday of a sharp, chemical smell in the air, according to Israeli media reports.

Tel Aviv Police added that no injuries have been reported as a result of the chlorine smell.

The Environmental Protection Ministry said based on tests it performed that the smell is not hazardous to the public.

Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=268570