Ramat Hovav
Encyclopedia
Ramat Hovav is an industrial zone in southern Israel
and the site of Israel's main hazardous waste
disposal facility. Ramat Hovav Industrial Zone is the locus of 19 chemical factories, including Makhteshim Agan
, a pesticide plant; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
, a pharmaceuticals plant; Israel Chemicals
, a bromine
plant. Wadi al-Na'am
, an unrecognized Bedouin
village, is located in close proximity to Ramat Hovav and Beersheba
is 12 kilometers away.
s that pollute the air and leach cancer-causing chemicals into the soil and water. The industrial zone was built at the edge of Wadi el-Na'am, today a village of more than 5,000 Bedouin citizens of Israel.Initially, the toxic waste facility was privately run. According to Israeli environmentalist Alon Tal, the waste was not pretreated before transport to the site. Storage facilities were weak, barrels often rusted, toxic residues were unlabeled and reactive materials were stored near containers of cyanide.The facility was closed down repeatedly in the wake of accidents.
Ten years after its establishment, outcrops of the chalk under Ramat Hovav showed fractures potentially leading to serious soil and groundwater contamination in the future.
In 1997, when an explosion occurred in barrels storing organo-phospheros pesticides, the residents of nearby villages were not warned and time passed before they were evacuated. In 2003, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel filed a suit petitioning the government to provide health services in the village. The same year, the Arab-Jewish environmental justice organization BUSTAN
worked with local Bedouin leaders to construct a health clinic out of sustainable materials in order to highlight health concerns in the region. A year later, the government built a health clinic on the other side of the village.
In 1998, it cost about sixty-five dollars to hire a driver to dump a five-ton truck of waste in the West Bank but more than eleven thousand dollars to dispose of waste at Ramat Hovav. In 1999, al-Quds al-Arabi
reported that Israeli companies were engaging in illegal dumping of toxic waste in the West Bank to avoid the cost of treatment and transport to Ramat Hovav.
A 2004 study commissioned by the Israeli Ministry of Health found a high rate of birth defects among children living in the vicinity. In August 2006, Ben Gurion University epidemiologist Batya Sarov, formerly a specialist at Chernobyl
, compared the environmental monitoring and health risks to Chernobyl
.
In 2007, the head of the Ramat Hovav council, Giora Meyuhas, accused the government corporation that manages the site, the Environmental Services Company, of breaking the law and polluting the environment. Sarov said that the concentration of so many industries in one place means that if there is a large explosion, not simply local Negev residents but all of Israel and many of its Middle Eastern neighbors will suffer severe contamination akin to that of a nuclear explosion.
and would eventually also be reachable via Highway 6
which is planned to be extended to the area. Much of the hazardous waste transported to the site from the rest of the country reaches it via an Israel Railways
rail line (a branch
off of the main line to Beersheba
) which terminates at a freight rail terminal located inside the industrial zone. Before the branch line was completed in 2004, hazardous materials bound for Ramat Hovav were transloaded
onto trucks at the Be'er Sheva North Railway Station
, a fact which delayed the approval of new real estate development in the vicinity of Be'er Sheva North due to the risk of hazardous materials spills occurring during the transloading process.
and construct a 'City of Training Bases
' for army professionals and their families was sidelined in favor of expanding Ramat Hovav. Ramat Hovav soon began seeking funding from the government for clean-up. As of March 2008, construction of the City of Training Bases south of Ramat Hovav began against widespread citizen opposition.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the site of Israel's main hazardous waste
Hazardous waste
A hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...
disposal facility. Ramat Hovav Industrial Zone is the locus of 19 chemical factories, including Makhteshim Agan
Makhteshim Agan
Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd is the world’s leading manufacturer and distributor of branded off-patent pesticides. Makhteshim-Agan is the world's seventh largest company in the global agrochemical sector with an approximately 5% market share for off-patent proprietary and branded products...
, a pesticide plant; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. , is an international pharmaceutical company headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel. It specializes in generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients...
, a pharmaceuticals plant; Israel Chemicals
Israel Chemicals
Israel Chemicals Ltd. , also known as ICL, is a multi-national Israeli manufacturing concern that develops, produces and markets fertilizers, metals and other special-purpose chemical products.-History:...
, a bromine
Bromine
Bromine ") is a chemical element with the symbol Br, an atomic number of 35, and an atomic mass of 79.904. It is in the halogen element group. The element was isolated independently by two chemists, Carl Jacob Löwig and Antoine Jerome Balard, in 1825–1826...
plant. Wadi al-Na'am
Wadi al-Na'am
Wadi al-Na'am is an unrecognized village in the Negev Desert in Southern Israel. The nearest official settlement is Beersheba. The village is home to about 5,000 Bedouin that live mainly in tents and tin shacks less than 500 meters away from a toxic waste dump, largely surrounded by the Ramat Hovav...
, an unrecognized Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
village, is located in close proximity to Ramat Hovav and Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
is 12 kilometers away.
Environmental and health hazards
Many of the factories in Ramat Hovav use hazardous materials and evaporation pondEvaporation pond
Evaporation ponds are artificial ponds with very large surface areas that are designed to efficiently evaporate water by sunlight and exposure to the ambient temperatures.- Uses :...
s that pollute the air and leach cancer-causing chemicals into the soil and water. The industrial zone was built at the edge of Wadi el-Na'am, today a village of more than 5,000 Bedouin citizens of Israel.Initially, the toxic waste facility was privately run. According to Israeli environmentalist Alon Tal, the waste was not pretreated before transport to the site. Storage facilities were weak, barrels often rusted, toxic residues were unlabeled and reactive materials were stored near containers of cyanide.The facility was closed down repeatedly in the wake of accidents.
Ten years after its establishment, outcrops of the chalk under Ramat Hovav showed fractures potentially leading to serious soil and groundwater contamination in the future.
In 1997, when an explosion occurred in barrels storing organo-phospheros pesticides, the residents of nearby villages were not warned and time passed before they were evacuated. In 2003, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel filed a suit petitioning the government to provide health services in the village. The same year, the Arab-Jewish environmental justice organization BUSTAN
Bustan (organization)
Bustan is a joint Israeli-Palestinian non-profit organization of eco-builders, architects, academics, and farmers who promote environmental and social justice in Israel/Palestine...
worked with local Bedouin leaders to construct a health clinic out of sustainable materials in order to highlight health concerns in the region. A year later, the government built a health clinic on the other side of the village.
In 1998, it cost about sixty-five dollars to hire a driver to dump a five-ton truck of waste in the West Bank but more than eleven thousand dollars to dispose of waste at Ramat Hovav. In 1999, al-Quds al-Arabi
Al-Quds Al-Arabi
Al-Quds Al-Arabi , is an independent pan-Arab daily newspaper published in London since 1989. The paper is owned by Palestinian expatriates, and edited by Abd al-Bari Atwan who was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Gaza Strip in 1950. Its motto is . Its circulation is estimated to be...
reported that Israeli companies were engaging in illegal dumping of toxic waste in the West Bank to avoid the cost of treatment and transport to Ramat Hovav.
A 2004 study commissioned by the Israeli Ministry of Health found a high rate of birth defects among children living in the vicinity. In August 2006, Ben Gurion University epidemiologist Batya Sarov, formerly a specialist at Chernobyl
Chernobyl
Chernobyl or Chornobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city had been the administrative centre of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932....
, compared the environmental monitoring and health risks to Chernobyl
Chernobyl
Chernobyl or Chornobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city had been the administrative centre of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932....
.
In 2007, the head of the Ramat Hovav council, Giora Meyuhas, accused the government corporation that manages the site, the Environmental Services Company, of breaking the law and polluting the environment. Sarov said that the concentration of so many industries in one place means that if there is a large explosion, not simply local Negev residents but all of Israel and many of its Middle Eastern neighbors will suffer severe contamination akin to that of a nuclear explosion.
Hazardous materials transport
The facility is accessed from Highway 40Highway 40 (Israel)
Highway 40 is a north-south intercity road in Israel. At 302 km long, it is the second longest highway in Israel, after Highway 90. The highway runs from Kfar Sava in the center of Israel to the Arabah in the south, serving as a main connection between central Israel and Be'er Sheva.-Route...
and would eventually also be reachable via Highway 6
Highway 6 (Israel)
Highway 6 , widely known as the Trans-Israel Highway or Cross-Israel Highway , is a major electronic toll highway in Israel. The highway was officially dedicated as the Yitzhak Rabin Highway , though this name is not commonly used. It started operating in the early 2000s and is being lengthened as...
which is planned to be extended to the area. Much of the hazardous waste transported to the site from the rest of the country reaches it via an Israel Railways
Israel Railways
Israel Railways is the principal passenger railway operating company in Israel, and is responsible for all inter-city and suburban rail way passenger and freight traffic in the country. All its lines are standard gauge. The network is centered in Israel's densely populated coastal plain, from...
rail line (a branch
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
off of the main line to Beersheba
Railway to Beersheba
The Railway to Beersheba is the common name for the railroad which currently stretches from central Israel to the Zin Factories in southern Israel, with spurs to the Be'er Sheva Center Railway Station, Ramat Hovav and the Arad phosphate mines and factories in Tzefa...
) which terminates at a freight rail terminal located inside the industrial zone. Before the branch line was completed in 2004, hazardous materials bound for Ramat Hovav were transloaded
Transloading
For the data downloading process, see sideload.Transloading is the process of transferring a shipment from one mode of transportation to another. It is most commonly employed when one mode cannot be used for the entire trip, as for instance when goods must be shipped internationally from one inland...
onto trucks at the Be'er Sheva North Railway Station
Be'er Sheva North Railway Station
Be'er Sheva North Railway Station is an Israel Railways station in Beersheba. It is a stop on the intercity line from Tel Aviv and Nahariya, and the terminus of the Beersheba - Dimona spur....
, a fact which delayed the approval of new real estate development in the vicinity of Be'er Sheva North due to the risk of hazardous materials spills occurring during the transloading process.
Development plans
In 2006, a plan to relocate the bases in TzrifinTzrifin
Tzrifin is an area in Gush Dan in central Israel, located on the eastern side of Rishon LeZion and including parts of Be'er Ya'akov. The area proper is defined as an 'area without jurisdiction' between the two cities....
and construct a 'City of Training Bases
Bahad
Bahad is a military training base in the Israel Defense Forces. Each Bahad deals with a certain field, such as law enforcement or logistics. Generally, each Bahad belongs to a certain corps and conducts all courses required by the corps in question...
' for army professionals and their families was sidelined in favor of expanding Ramat Hovav. Ramat Hovav soon began seeking funding from the government for clean-up. As of March 2008, construction of the City of Training Bases south of Ramat Hovav began against widespread citizen opposition.
External links
- Ramat Hovav Industrial Council
- Government information
- BUSTAN Naqab Desert Socio-Environmental Timeline
- BUSTAN: Resources on Negev Development
- BUSTAN: Resources on Negev Health and Environment
- Clinic construction at Wadi el-Na'am
- Recent explosions
- Call for evacuation by Israeli official
- Area residents file unprecedented suit against Ramat Hovav
- Shifting management/Labor disputes
- About Boot Camp City