Bethel Finance: Budget Doubled for Asbestos Cleanup Project in Northern Israel

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Bethel Finance news:
Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan toured the asbestos cleanup sites in Nahariya in northern Israel on January 3, 2011 to personally check the progress of the project for identifying, removing and disposing of asbestos waste in the Western Galilee, which was initiated in April 2011.

Due to the importance of the project, both in terms of public health and satisfactory implementation, Minister Erdan instructed his ministry to double the budget allocated for the project from 20 million shekels per year to 40 million shekels per year, thereby shortening the implementation period by two years, with the projected end of the project expected in 2014.

Minister Erdan: "Every day in which we advance the project will save human lives and therefore we doubled the budget allocated to this project this year in order to double the implementation rate of removing this hazard. This is a life-saving project, which is implemented according to the highest professional standards worldwide."

It is estimated that some 150,000 cubic meters of industrial asbestos waste are dispersed in the Western Galilee, originating in the Eitanit asbestos cement plant which operated in Nahariya. The industrial asbestos waste which accumulated in the factory served as a substrate for roads and trails. Some of the asbestos waste is visible and some is exposed due to infrastructure work in the area. Every infrastructure project or even travel along the roads and trails can release asbestos fibers to the environment.

The cost of asbestos removal and treatment is estimated at 300 million shekels (more than $80 million) over a five year period. The project is funded by the State alongside local authorities and by Eitanit, which is required to bear half the costs of the project, up to 150 million shekels, according to the Law for the Prevention of Hazards from Asbestos and Harmful Dust which was enacted in April 2011.

Meanwhile, Eitanit has petitioned the High Court of Justice against the State, and its share in financing the project is not ensured. During his visit to the area, residents asked Minister Erdan to prevail on the owners of Eitanit to withdraw the petition and accept their responsibility under the law to finance the removal of the asbestos hazard.

Since April 2011, when the project began, some 36 sites were cleaned up and some 14,000 cubic meters of asbestos contaminated waste were removed at a cost of 30 million shekels. The project is implemented under the strict supervision and inspection of Ministry of Environmental Protection employees to assure implementation in accordance with the most stringent conditions.