Haifa Mayor: School Closures Due to Carcinogens Are a Real Alarm

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav declared on Monday that the closure of schools due to carcinogenic substances in the air is a "real alarm," not just a warning light. He stated that such negligence must stop, emphasizing that in a proper state, children should not be kept home from school because of industrial air pollution, nor should residents be instructed to seal their homes to protect their health. Yahav criticized the ongoing operation of polluting factories in the heart of the populated Haifa Bay area, highlighting that residents bear the cost. He specifically pointed to the recent incident involving abnormal concentrations of benzene, a carcinogen, which led to the closure of two schools. The mayor demanded that the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Health ensure that the work causing the pollution anomalies does not resume until a full investigation is completed, the risk is removed, and all necessary public protection measures are implemented. He also called for a full account from the Bazan oil refinery and strict oversight, enforcement, and transparency from government ministries regarding monitoring results. Yahav reiterated his call for the closure of the oil refineries by 2029, stating that the recent event proves the urgency of this decision and that Haifa residents are not second-class citizens whose health can be compromised. The municipality of Kiryat Ata confirmed that classes were canceled at two schools, the Social High School at the D'shanim complex and the 'Erezim' school in the industrial zone, following guidelines from the Ministries of Health, Education, and Environmental Protection. The municipality is in constant contact with school administrations and parents regarding remote learning and will take all necessary steps to protect public health, with a return to classes only permitted once maximum safety levels are achieved.