Haifa, Israel—The battle for closing down Haifa Chemicals’ 12,000 mt ammonia storage facility has intensified. Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav has called on the Israeli government to remove the facility from the city, noting that the recent threat by the Hezbollah militia to fire missiles at the site (GM Feb. 19, p. 13) put as many as a million people in danger. Mayor Yahav stressed the dangers from the ammonia in the event of a war. The mayor has been leading a campaign to get the facility shut down, as well as against pollution levels from the refining, petrochemical, and chemical industries that are located in the Haifa Bay region. Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry issued a statement that the final tender for construction of an ammonia plant would be issued by the end of March. The ministry said the main issue delaying construction of a plant in southern Israel is the high price of domestic natural gas. Back in 2013 the Israeli government approved the closing of the facility and the setting up of a 120,000-150,000 mt/y ammonia plant.
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