ICL’s Rotem and Bazan Group’s Haifa oil refineries lead Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry’s Environmental Impact Index
Zafrir Rinat. Aug 14, 2023
The Environmental Protection Ministry’s Environmental Impact Index published on Monday shows that ICL’s Rotem Amfert phosphates plant and the Bazan Group’s Haifa oil refineries topped the list of Israel’s worst industrial polluters in 2021.
The Environmental Impact Index is published yearly by the Environmental Protection Ministry to provide information on the environmental performance and risks of 45 public and governmental companies.
The index weighs pollutant emissions, compliance with regulations, toxic substances’ storage and energy efficiency. Data is collected from three years, 2018-2021, with greater weight placed on more recent evidence.
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During the index’s presentation, Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman claimed that the judicial overhaul plan promoted by the government “will help us promote better laws for the sake of the environment.”
This position differs from those voiced by environmental professionals and organizations, who emphasize that the reasonableness standard enabled the courts to prevent activities that endanger the environment.
In recent years, ICL’s Rotem (formerly the Rotem Amfert factory) has constantly ranked first in the index. The company mines minerals, primarily phosphate, in the Negev. They also are involved in manufacturing at the chemical plants at the Mishor Rotem plateau. Rotem is owned by ICL whose owner is businessman Idan Ofer.
A sign warning visitors against entering the Ashalim Stream, in 2018.Credit: Eliyahu Hershkovitz
The combination of ICL Rotem’s wastewater treatment violations, exceeding air pollution emission limits, high emissions during normal operations, and late submission of documents in 2019 make them the highest polluter of 2021.
In a written response, the ICL company said: “The company is currently undergoing significant improvement, and we will continue to further this trend and contribute to the economy and society.”
Bazan’s oil refineries in Haifa were ranked second in the index. This is thanks to an indictment against the company and its leaders due to the plant’s high emissions of air pollutants. In addition, Bazan leaked dangerous substances, including the carcinogen benzene. An administrative order was also issued to the plant due to the company’s failure to upgrade one of its facilities
The Bazan Group issued a statement, saying: “The Group is currently formulating a long-term plan to reduce carbon emissions in its entire supply chain.”
Among the 20 most polluting companies, five were wastewater treatment plants. These companies were originally supposed to solve environmental problems, not create them.
In seventh place is the Shafdan – Israel’s largest wastewater treatment plant. This because in 2019 Shafdan discharged sewage sludge to a forested area, and it continues to pollutants as a by-product of the purification process.
The Dan Regional Association for Environmental Infrastructure, which operates the Shafdan wastewater treatment plant said in response that “We regret that the data is based on specific cases from more than four years ago that have been explained and even improved. We remind the ministry staff that following a previous report, they were forced to apologize after being exposed to the true data, and Shafdan’s ranking was updated and improved.”
Nesher cement plant and other private companies responsible for significant pollution were not included in the ministry’s survey. This is because their performance is recorded in another index – the ministry’s survey of environmental emissions – published annually at the end of the year.
The director general of the Environmental Protection Ministry, Guy Samet, said that the fact that companies like ICL’s Rotem and Bazan have topped the index for several years does not indicate that the survey has little influence. “We know that the index does get attention from the Manufacturers Association and believe that it does contribute over the years to reducing pollutants,” he said.
Dr. Arye Wenger of the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, said in response to the index that “For more than a decade, the environmental impact index has been proving that the most devastating combination for the environment is that of significant emissions of pollutants with ongoing breaking of environmental laws. It is only appropriate for the Environmental Protection Ministry to act to reduce emissions and pursue significant environmental law enforcement.”