The transportation of ammonia to the Haifa Bay and its storage in the city's industrial zone places over 600,000 people in grave danger, a new report warned Tuesday. Located in the heart of the Haifa Bay industrial zone, Haifa Chemicals' ammonia processing and storage facility was founded in 1989. It stores all the ammonia imported by Israel, and can hold up to 12,000 tons of chemicals. Previous government plans to relocate the facility to southern Israel have failed to materialize. Professor Ehud Keinan, who heads a committee reviewing the issue, warned that the tank could "fall apart tomorrow," killing 16,000 people in the immediate vicinity. The ship delivering 14,000 tons of ammonia to the facility every month poses an equal -- perhaps even greater -- threat: As there is no way to effectively protect the vessel, "it's essentially a sitting duck," Keinan warned. "I had no trouble getting information about when the ship arrived at Haifa Bay. I stood 150 meters away from it and no one around thought to ask me who I am or what I was doing there," he said. Keinan's report, to which a team of leading experts contributed, also warned of the dwindling lifespan of the tank itself. The 31-year-old container was designed to be in use for no more than 40 years. The report concluded that since it was installed, the tank's internal integrity has never been inspected. "There are four problematic points in the tank: one at the bottom, two on top -- less dangerous -- and one in the middle," Keinan said. "If the tank falls apart tomorrow we're talking about 16,000 deaths." According to the report, due to its age, the ammonia tank is in the "red zone," meaning there is substantial risk to the integrity of its hull. "This requires the tank be emptied, dried and inspected immediately," the report said. "This tank should have already undergone three internal checks. There's no such thing as 'there are no cracks.' The question is how they advance. We're talking about the biggest threat in the Middle East. Where's the Environmental Protection Ministry-" The report also concluded that maintaining an ammonia storage tank of this size was never a national strategic interest for Israel. "All the ammonia Israel really need amounts to some 3,000 tons a year. This minimum amount can be imported and stored in small, safer containers that could be set up across Israel," it said. Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav called on the government to discuss the issue immediately, and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to handle the issue without delay. "It is time for everyone to do whatever it is within their power to remove this bomb from our backyard," he said. However, Haifa Chemicals said in a statement: "The ammonia tank in Haifa Bay is the safest of its kind in the world. We carefully follow defense officials' instructions on public safety in times of routine and emergency. "Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav is misleading the public and making cynical use of a report whose findings have been rejected by those entrusted with maintaining public safety. Yahav knows that Professor Keinan has never conducted a significant risk assessment [on the tank] and his findings are based on a 40-year-old inspection, which is irrelevant. "Unfortunately, rather than leading the residents of the area, Yahav seeks to cause public panic to divert public attention from his failures on municipal issues. The mayor would be wise to spend his time on improving his failed infrastructure, education and welfare systems, rather than on creating false provocations."
