Unequivocal evidence: environmental exposure to industrial air pollution in Haifa Bay at a young age is associated with cancer.
A new study, funded by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and carried out by researchers from the Hebrew University, Hadassah, the Technion, the Medical Corps and the National Center for Disease Control of the Ministry of Health, provides additional scientific support for the need to evacuate the petrochemical industry from Haifa Bay, and move it away from population concentrations.
Air pollution over Haifa (horizontal), photo: Michel dot com
The study was conducted by Prof. Raanan Raz from the School of Public Health and the Center for Sustainability at the Hebrew University; Prof. David Brodai from the Technion; Prof. Gilad Twig from the Medical Corps and the Gartner Institute; Prof. Little Keenan-Booker from the University of Haifa and from the National Center for Disease Control at the Ministry of Health, and other researchers.
In March 2022, the Israeli government approved a decision to end petrochemical activity in the Haifa Bay within a decade, and promote a plan to develop infrastructure and economic growth engines in the bay.
This decision was made on the basis of the summary report of the committee of CEOs, which was promoted by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Prime Minister's Office and examined the issue.
Residents of Haifa and Kiryat demonstrate against air pollution, 2016, photo: Herzi Shapira
The study found that between 1967-2012, exposure to industrial air pollution in Haifa Bay was linked to an increased risk of getting cancer.
Along with examining cancer, the study found that in those years there was an excess morbidity of asthma and other allergic diseases in the Gulf.
However, unlike cancer, the study did not find that this excess morbidity was linked to exposure to air pollution.
The study population included all adolescents aged 16-20 who were born in Israel and whose medical condition was assessed for military recruitment by the Israeli Medical Corps between 1967 and 2012, of whom 59% were men.
In total, 2,187,317 subjects were tested.
Minister of Environmental Protection, Tamar Zandberg, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Minister of Environmental Protection, Tamar Zandberg: "The study points to the urgent need to evacuate the petrochemical industry from Haifa Bay, and provide the residents of the city and the northern metropolis with clean air, health and quality of life. The government's decision to evacuate the factories is a step in the right direction, and its implementation must be accelerated and Israel must be promoted to an era of An economy free of fossil fuels".
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