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The Kishon River (Hebrew: ??? ??????) is a river
River

A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water....
 in Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
 that flows into the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
 at the city of Haifa
Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in North District Israel, and the List of Israeli cities in the country, with a population of over 264,900. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs....
.

Considered the most polluted
Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
 river in Israel, it has been the subject of controversy regarding the struggle to improve the water quality.

The pollution stems in part from daily contamination for over 40 years with mercury
Mercury (element)

Mercury , also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum , is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. A heavy, silvery d-block metal, mercury is one of six elements that are liquid at or near room temperature and pressure....
, other heavy metals
Heavy metals

A heavy metal is a member of an ill-defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties, which would mainly include the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanides, and actinides....
, and organic chemicals by nearby chemical plants.

It is often claimed today that there are more chemicals than water in the river, and that washing ones hands in this river can cause severe chemical burns.






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Kishon
The Kishon River (Hebrew: ??? ??????) is a river
River

A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water....
 in Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
 that flows into the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
 at the city of Haifa
Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in North District Israel, and the List of Israeli cities in the country, with a population of over 264,900. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs....
.

Considered the most polluted
Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
 river in Israel, it has been the subject of controversy regarding the struggle to improve the water quality.

The pollution stems in part from daily contamination for over 40 years with mercury
Mercury (element)

Mercury , also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum , is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. A heavy, silvery d-block metal, mercury is one of six elements that are liquid at or near room temperature and pressure....
, other heavy metals
Heavy metals

A heavy metal is a member of an ill-defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties, which would mainly include the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanides, and actinides....
, and organic chemicals by nearby chemical plants.

It is often claimed today that there are more chemicals than water in the river, and that washing ones hands in this river can cause severe chemical burns. On several occasions this river (or rather, patches of petrochemical waste on it) has caught fire from the chemical contaminants. Below Histadrut Bridge (Highway 4
Highway 4 (Israel)

Highway 4 is an Israeli highway that runs along Israel's entire Israeli Coastal Plain of the Mediterranean Sea, its route in the north runs from the Rosh HaNikra border crossing with Lebanon until the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier#Erez Crossing with the Gaza Strip....
), after passing the petrochemical industries zone, the pH
PH

pH is a measure of the Acid or Base of a solution. It is defined as the cologarithm of the Activity of dissolved hydrogen ions . Hydrogen ion activity coefficients cannot be measured experimentally, so they are based on theoretical calculations....
 was 3 or below for most of the time in 2001.

Since 2001, it was discovered that Shayetet 13
Shayetet 13

Shayetet 13 is the Israel Defense Forces naval Special forces unit. The unit is considered one of the top-three SF units in Israel . S'13 is the unit that specializes in maritime hostage rescue and counter-terrorist missions....
 veterans had high occurrence of cancer
Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
, probably due to training in the polluted Kishon River and Haifa Bay. A commission for investigating the matter didn't find statistical evidences that the diving in the Kishon caused the cancer. However, Minister of Defence, Shaul Mofaz
Shaul Mofaz

is the current Israeli Transportation Minister of Israel and a Deputy Prime Minister, and a former Defense Minister of Israel. Previously he was the 16th Chief of the General Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces, and was the second Israeli of a Mizrahi background to achieve that post....
, decided to compensate the divers' families in spite of the commission findings.

A 2002 study found the ability of 3 hours' exposure to Kishon River water to induce DNA damage in rainbow trout
Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America as well as much of the central, western, eastern, and especially the northern portions of the United States....
 liver cells to be on average threefold that of unpolluted water. Notably the lower Kishon had a markedly elevated genotoxic
Genotoxic

Genotoxicity describes a deleterious action on a cell genetic material affecting its integrity. Genotoxic substances are known to be potentially mutagenic or carcinogen, specifically those capable of causing genetic mutation and of contributing to the development of tumors....
 potential.

A 2000 analysis of the river water revealed

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