HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Safe management of hazardous substances is one of Israel's most pressing
environmental concerns. Appropriate safety and control procedures for
the import, manufacture, storage, use and transport of hazardous
substances and their wastes must be viewed as an integral element in the
development of the country.
Management of Hazardous Materials
Hazardous materials are widely used by Israel's chemicals, defense,
electronics, and metals industries, as well as in homes, hospitals,
research facilities and agriculture. The substances estimated at
about 8,000 cover a broad range, including explosive, inflammable,
corrosive and radioactive materials.
Provisions for the handling of hazardous substances are under the
authority of a number of government agencies. While the Hazardous
Materials Division of the Ministry of the Environment is the main body
responsible for the management of hazardous substances, further
centralization of powers and responsibilities for the management of
hazardous substances from "cradle to grave" is still required. Today,
the Ministry of the Environment coordinates its activities with other
authorities including the Ministries of Health, Transport, Labor and
Welfare, Interior, Defense, the Prime Minister's Office, the National
Standards Institute, and local authorities.
Industrial Use of Hazardous Substances
Environmental units in local authorities have received Ministry of the
Environment guidelines on the identification of plants producing various
types of hazardous substances, and on appropriate methods of storage,
handling and disposal. The guidelines cover companies that employ
hazardous materials in industrial processes, even when the final product
is not itself hazardous. In addition to these guidelines, environmental
conditions are imposed through the Licensing of Businesses Law. The
conditions include reporting on the types and quantities of hazardous
substances, monitoring, and safety precautions. For some new industrial
plants, environmental impact statements are required. Suitable programs
for the storage, treatment and transport of hazardous materials must be
approved.
In recent years, the addition of qualified personnel and modern
equipment for the detection, monitoring and assessment of chemical
contaminants at the district as well as the local level has led to
positive results. Emergency response teams are aided by the Ministry of
the Environment's Environmental Research Institute, which is active in
the field of hazardous substances monitoring, analysis and research, and
operates both a chemical laboratory and a sophisticated mobile
laboratory.
At the district level, the Ministry of the Environment grants special
permits for the handling of toxic substances to any business that wants
to produce, use, store, transport or sell poisons.
Transport of Hazardous Substances
Transporting hazardous substances is dangerous and difficult in Israel.
The roads are sometimes narrow, and the principal arteries pass through
densely populated areas. The location of the national hazardous waste
disposal site at Ramat Hovav in the south, eminently justified by other
factors, adds to the problem, since so many industrial facilities are
located in Israel's north.
Principal responsibility for the transport of hazardous substances rests
with the Ministry of Transportation, which has promulgated regulations
covering all hazardous materials transport. These regulations impose
emergency preparation measures, as well as specific packing, labelling,
vehicle-marking (including the United Nations symbol for hazardous
substances) requirements. Special licenses must be obtained for both
drivers and vehicles. More recently, special "No Entrance" road signs
have been posted to prohibit vehicles loaded with hazardous substances
from passing through densely populated centers.
Contingency Plans and Emergency Procedures
In 1980, the Environmental Protection Service commissioned a study on
the safeguarding of environmental quality and public welfare during
accidents in industrial plants. This study served as the basis for the
preparation of a contingency plan for accidents in chemical plants. A
model information file was developed, with data on the substances used
by specific plants, guidelines for safe operation, storage and disposal,
as well as procedures to be undertaken in case of emergency. The study
recommended that every plant designated as a potential safety risk
prepare such a file for emergency use.
The Bhopal catastrophe of 1984, in which thousands were killed by poison
gas leaking from a pesticide plant, precipitated the establishment of an
interministerial committee to study the handling of hazardous substances
in Israel, particularly during emergency conditions. This committee
submitted recommendations regarding: the prevention of accidents in
potentially dangerous plants; the supervision and follow-up of safety
procedures; guidelines for action in emergencies; the allocation of
responsibility among government ministries, local authorities, industry,
the army and police; plans for dealing with a major accident; and data
collection and scientific research. Based on the committee's
recommendations, the government established an information center for
hazardous substances in 1987, to be maintained by the Ministry of
Defense. Today, the Ministry of the Environment is creating a center,
which will supply information upon request, twenty-four hours a day, on
all matters relating to hazardous materials. The ministry is also
responsible for preparing contingency plans for accidents and
emergencies, and for organizing professional teams to deal with such
accidents. In emergencies, experts are despatched to the scene equipped
with the means and equipment for identifying, assessing, monitoring and,
wherever possible, neutralizing the hazardous materials involved.
Treatment and Disposal of Hazardous Waste
Until the mid-1970s, Israeli industries improvised their own methods of
hazardous waste disposal from storage on their own grounds to
discharge into municipal waste sites, sewage systems, watercourses, the
sea, vacant lots and abandoned quarries. The cumulative quantity of
hazardous waste discharged into the environment without supervision or
control since 1948 is estimated at tens of thousands of tons.
In 1977, Ramat Hovav, located about 12 kilometers south of Be'er Sheva,
was designated as a national disposal site for hazardous waste.
Geological, hydrological and demographic factors led to the selection of
this location. The original plan for Ramat Hovav envisaged operation as
a treatment plant and not merely a dumping ground. However, from the
time of the site's opening in 1979 to 1987, wastes that arrived at the
site were haphazardly received, stored and treated. Only in 1988 did the
first neutralization facility begin operating at the site, but to- date
no satisfactory solution has been found to the fuel industry sludge or
the ever-increasing quantities of organic substances in Ramat Hovav.
The quantities of hazardous wastes which reached the site increased from
7,000 tons in 1985 to 25,000 in 1988, to 44,000 in 1989 and 40,000 in
1991. The 40,000 ton figure reflects only about half of the hazardous
waste produced annually. Most of the waste is contributed by chemical
plants in the vicinity of Ramat Hovav, but hundreds of producers, some
generating as little as one to thirty tons of hazardous waste yearly,
still are not treating or disposing of their hazardous waste as required
by recent regulations. Since the regulations require that all hazardous
waste be properly treated, recycled, or deposited at Ramat Hovav,
stricter control and enforcement by the municipalities is necessary. It
should improve, as data collected by local environmental units becomes
available for comparison with reports on quantities, types and producers
of hazardous waste provided by Ramat Hovav's management. Of the waste
that does reach the site, acid sludge comprises 22%, inorganic acid
solutions 18%, precipitates 17%, organic substances 14%, and alkaline
solutions 11%. The apparent decrease in material reaching Ramat Hovav
between 1989 and 1991 is the result of in-house recycling recently
undertaken by a large manufacturer of pesticides, fungicides and
agrochemicals. This company, which previously disposed of 20,000 tons of
hazardous waste annually at the disposal site in Ramat Hovav, now sells
its purified acids to a major fertilizer plant for use as raw materials
in the production of phosphate fertilizers.
Pesticides in Agriculture
Pesticides used for agricultural purposes constitute an important
percentage of all chemicals found in the environment in Israel. About
350 different pesticides are used in the country. Several local factors
exacerbate the problem of all three forms of pesticides: herbicides,
fungicides and insecticides. Agriculture is intensive, and crops are
grown throughout the year. As a result of the hot (and in some areas,
relatively humid) climate, crops are prone to attack by a large number
of pests, diseases, weeds and animals. In addition, greenhouses, which
are increasingly used, provide very receptive microclimates for the
growth of pests. Some of the crops grown in Israel notably cotton
are chemical- intensive.
- Registration
The director of the Pesticides Division of the Plant Protection and
Inspection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture has responsibility
for approving all licenses for pesticides. The registration process
begins with testing over a period of months or years, followed by
provisional approval for limited use. Finally, when comprehensive
toxicological data have been gathered, an advisory committee composed of
representatives of several ministries including the Ministry of the
Environment, decides whether or not to approve the product for final
registration.
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- Pesticide Residues
Pesticide residues find their way into food, water, air and soil (where
special problems arise when edible crops are grown in soil previously
treated with pesticides intended for non-edible crops). A comprehensive
system for preventing pesticide residues does not yet exist in Israel.
Improvements have been made, with regard to increased testing and
monitoring, and stricter enforcement.
Although most pesticides used in Israel break down within three to sixty
days, residues in food may have long-term toxic effects. Thus,
application of these substances must be limited, and discontinued
altogether a certain period of time prior to harvesting. Every pesticide
container is labelled with the latest day of permitted use before
harvest. These measures must be carefully policed.
The level of pesticides contained in Israeli export produce meets
standards recommended by the WHO and the FAO, as well as the higher
standards imposed by the European Community. Produce intended for export
is tested regularly by the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that these
standards are being met; produce intended for the local market is tested
only sporadically. The Ministry of Health is in charge of monitoring and
testing food products. It has the power to confiscate and destroy any
fruit, vegetable, or dairy product which does not meet regulatory
standards.
- Storage
Storage places for pesticides in rural areas are monitored by inspectors
of the Division for the Prevention of Pollution by Poisons of the Nature
Reserves Authority (NRA), under the responsibility of the Ministry of
the Environment. Since empty pesticide containers pose a serious health
hazard, procedures for the neutralization and reuse of containers should
be regulated and supervised.
- Integrated Pest Management
Partial solutions to the problem of pesticides and herbicides in the
environment require integrated pest management: biological control and
replacement of traditional pesticides with pest- specific substances
that disrupt the life cycle of pests without harming their natural
enemies. New technological methods, based on a theory similar to drip
irrigation, ensure a minimum discharge of nitrates to the soil, and
maximal utilization by the plant. Herbicides that decompose as a result
of microbial actions in the weed's environment have also been developed.
Biological control methods used in place of chemicals are helping to
reduce pesticide use without lowering agricultural output. The
increasing demand for organic produce will also help curb pesticide use.
- Insecticides
The licensing process for insecticides for home use is separate from the
process for agricultural use. In 1992, a committee was established,
equally composed of representatives from the Ministries of Health and
Environment, for the purpose of licensing insecticides for home use and
public health use.
The Ministry of the Environment advises and guides local authorities in
combatting pests which are harmful to man, whether as nuisances or as
disease-carriers (especially mosquitos). For this purpose, monitoring,
education, guidance and direction are provided. The Ministry of the
Environment is also responsible for the licensing and supervision of
exterminators. Efforts are concentrated primarily on increased training,
careful licensing, and supervision over the improper use and handling of
pest-control substances for home use. Specific guidelines on the storage
of insecticides for home use have been prepared and disseminated.
Legal Framework for the Management of Hazardous Materials
Hazardous waste management is still controlled by a wide variety of
legal provisions, under the responsibility of different enforcement
authorities. To provide for the safe management of hazardous substances,
a comprehensive hazardous substances control law is required to unify
the regulatory framework, restrain or eliminate potential dangers to
health and the environment, and provide the necessary authority for
inspection, supervision and enforcement.
A major breakthrough occurred in 1990, when the Ministry of the
Environment promulgated regulations pursuant to the Licensing of
Businesses Law and the Public Health Ordinance, which require industrial
plants to dispose of hazardous wastes at the Ramat Hovav site no later
than six months after production. Procedures for inspection and
supervision, manner of packing, transport and disposal to Ramat Hovav
are specified in these regulations. Any disposal elsewhere for purposes
of recycling, reuse or other treatment must be approved by the Ministry
of the Environment.
A 1991 amendment to the Commodities and Services (Control) Order, which
deals with materials for the extermination of pests harmful to man,
establishes a committee empowered to grant licenses for pesticides used
in public health and domestic use. The committee is composed of an equal
number of representatives from the Ministry of the Environment and
Ministry of Health.
The Protection of Plants Law gives the Minister of Agriculture authority
over the import, sale, and use of pesticides and hormones used on plants
and animals, and permits a special department set up within the Ministry
of Agriculture to refuse to permit the sale or use of a pesticide not
proved to the department's satisfaction to be environmentally safe.
The Pharmacists' Ordinance empowers the Minister of the Environment to
license and regulate all aspects of use and transfer of toxic
substances, with the exception of medical drugs.
The Safety of Workers Law covers the handling of harmful substances in
the workplace. The Public Health (Foods) Ordinance provides for the
establishment of standards for maximum permissible levels of harmful
substances pesticides, for example in food.
A 1991 amendment to the Regulations on Safety at Work (Industrial
Hygiene and Public Health for Workers Exposed to Asbestos, Talc, and
Crystalline Silicon Dioxide) reflects Israel's increased concern over
the improper use of asbestos and its by- products. The amended
regulations restrict the import of asbestos, set strict standards for
worker exposure, broaden the prohibitions on the marketing of asbestos
and its components in various products, and prohibit textile products
containing asbestos. The Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of
Labor and Welfare are responsible for the implementation of the
regulations.