Haifa Oil Refineries Benzene Levels Prompt School Closures, Health Advisories

Health and environmental ministries issued special public guidelines Sunday following the measurement of unusually high benzene concentrations near the Oil Refineries complex in Haifa's industrial zone. In coordination with the Kiryat Ata municipality, classes at two local schools, the Social High School and Erezim Elementary, will be canceled for the next 24 hours, with students to be relocated. Residents living within a kilometer of the refineries, especially children and pregnant women, are advised to limit outdoor activity. Workers in the industrial area are recommended to close windows and use air conditioning. The elevated benzene levels were detected over the weekend, October 9-10, at a monitoring station near the Dshanism industrial zone in Kiryat Ata, and on Sunday at a station in Haifa near the old licensing office. While concentrations initially dropped Sunday morning, they rose again in the afternoon. The Ministry of Environmental Protection ordered a halt to maintenance work at the Oil Refineries (Bazan) complex, which had been ongoing alongside war damage repair efforts. The ministry requires the facility to investigate the incident and submit a detailed plan for future work and preventative measures before resuming operations. The ministries are scheduled to reassess the situation on Monday based on ongoing monitoring and will update the public accordingly.