Environmental Impact Index: The refineries (BZN) - the plant with the highest environmental impact

The Ministry of Environmental Protection's Environmental Impact Index for 2019, published for the ninth year, provides the rating of the environmental impact of companies and enterprises that are publicly and government-owned. The index provides the public with comparative and simple information on the performance and environmental risks of public companies with large environmental impact and the factories they own.
The index examines in depth the environmental risk of 49 public companies, 124 large industrial plants and about 700 gas stations, and its methodology is based on the Environmental Risk Assessment Index of the British Environmental Protection Agency (OPRA Index). The index was prepared with the help of DHVMED.
 In the current index, the refineries (BZN) were ranked as the plant with the highest environmental impact with an 18% increase in the score compared to 2018. It is followed by "stars" at the top of the red list: Rotem Ampert, the Shafdan facility, Paz Ashdod refinery and the Carmel Olefins plant.
As mentioned, at the top of the index is the BZN plant with an 18% increase in last year's score, which means a greater environmental impact. Emissions to air of various pollutants, as well as violations related to the treatment of sewage and hazardous substances.Also, the plant has a high score resulting from the amount of emissions and transfers to the environment.
The Rotem Ampert plant is in second place with a slight improvement (decrease) of 3% in the last sub-score. In 2019, the plant was set a negative score for operational violations at the plant and a delay in submitting documents and reports. In addition, the score from 2018 is due to violations of an exception in air emissions, and from 2017 on the collapse of a wall in a pool in a factory that led to a massive spill of acidic and dangerous material into the Ashalim River. The plant has a high score due to the amount of emissions and transfers to the environment. The state is also in the process of a class action lawsuit against the company due to the incident of the leak to Nahal Ashalim, on behalf of the entire public, for the environmental damage.
Other notable establishments in the index: Shafdan enters the top ten, which opens the index in third place and is a new facility in the index. Dangerous and odor hazardous.
Paz Ashdod Refinery is also in the top ten this year in fourth place, but with a 28% improvement (decrease) in this year's score. In 2018-2019, anomalies in air emissions were measured at the plant. In 2018, an administrative order was issued due to the anomalies, and an enforcement procedure was carried out following non-sampling and anomalies in air emissions as required by the plant conditions. Additional violations were also documented, including irregularities and infrastructure violations in the field of air emissions, poor maintenance in the field of hazardous materials, as well as monitoring and reporting that did not meet the requirements.
The Carmel Olefins factory is ranked 5th in the index. The plant showed a slight increase of 1% in the score compared to last year. In 2019, a hearing was held for the plant for violating the quota of hours during which production facilities operated without operating the air emissions treatment facility. Violations concerning hazardous substances and abnormal emissions of pollutants into the air have also been documented. An additional score is given for violations from 2017-2018 on criminal convictions for violations of air emissions violations, a financial sanction given for violations of the control system and torch cameras, administrative orders for violations in environmental monitoring and material emissions.
Minister of Environmental Protection Tamar Zandberg said: "The environmental impact index reveals to the general public and investors in industrial companies the environmental risks inherent in them. The index links environmental risks to the factors responsible for them, and allows investors in companies - whether they are our pension funds, banks or the general public. - Require investment in proper environmental management from the managers of those companies "
 Bazan Group's response to the publication of the index: "Despite the unreliability of the index and the misleading information provided to investors, the Bazan Group considers investing in the environment to be of strategic importance, as also appears from the official data published by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. In the years 2018-2019, the Benzen Group reduced emissions by tens of percent, including a 75% reduction in benzene emissions (in one year only). This reduction joins the group's multi-year trend, which reduced from 2009 to 2019 between 65% and 95% of major air pollutant emissions. "Zen is currently planning long-term projects that will have a significant positive environmental impact."