By EHUD ZION WALDOKS
01/12/2011 03:58
List represents very initial results of survey of hazards IDF is undertaking as part of 4 year, NIS 400 million effort to clean up its environment.
The army published a list on Tuesday of 14 gas stations and one factory that pose a risk of environmental pollution. The army published the list to comply with new freedom of information regulations regarding environmental pollution risks that recently went into effect.
The list represents very initial results of a survey of hazards the IDF is undertaking as part of a fouryear, NIS 400 million effort to clean up its environment.
The IDF Spokesman’s Office said more detailed information would be forthcoming shortly.
The IDF is responsible for a large amount of land, bases and people and its environmental behavior has a large impact as well. Bahad 1, the officers’ training school, was inaugurated as a green base in October. The IDF is also considering moving to natural gas rather than fuel oil to power its generators.
The Defense and Environmental Protection ministries recently worked out a plan to connect the last 150 IDF bases to sewage lines, or sewage treatment technology in the case of isolated bases.
The army has also pledged to clean up its gas stations.
The list of 14 gas stations published Tuesday notes that they are all part of that upgrade plan.
The factory and its land will be returned to the Israel Lands Authority, according to the list.
Asbestos on bases will also be removed. Asbestos that has crumbled becomes carcinogenic if inhaled.
IDF sources have told The Jerusalem Post in the past that environmental cleanup isn’t always simple because some of the infrastructure dates back to the British Mandate.
Environmental hazards will be addressed through a variety of means, the IDF said in a statement, including upgrading infrastructure, pinpoint treatment, strengthening regulations, creating new standards, training staff, new technologies and continuing assessment and critique.
The Environmental Protection Ministry has pledged in the past to hold the IDF to the same stringent standards it enforces in the private sector.
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=203193