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Bill to Address Asbestos Advances in Israel

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

A bill to address asbestos in a comprehensive way in Israel received a key committee endorsement. The Ministerial Committee on Legislation approved the bill, meaning that it will have the support of the coalition when it goes to the floor of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, for a vote.

The bill lays out guidelines for working with asbestos and its removal and includes funds for cleanup and treatment of crumbling asbestos, The Jerusalem Post reports.

The city of Nahariya and surrounding area on the northern coast of Israel have one of the highest concentrations of people with mesothelioma in the world. For 45 years, Nahariya was home to an asbestos plant that produced asbestos cement until it was shut down in 1997. Asbestos is no longer made nor imported into Israel. Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer associated with asbestos, typically develops several decades after exposure.

There were about 600 cases in Israel of people getting sick from asbestos exposure, according to the Organization for Environment and Life in Nahariya.

“The bill is a product of a more than 10-year-old public battle to raise awareness of the danger of asbestos,” Orit Reich, found and director of the Organization for Environment and Life told The Jerusalem Post.

Jerusalem Post story

Labels: International News

posted by Wade Rawlins at 4:46 PM
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