The levels underwent a dramatic drop between 2012 and 2013, the Environmental Protection Ministry reported on Tuesday. An examination of emissions data in the 2013 Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) indicated a sharp decrease in pollution levels, with reductions of up to 40 percent of certain contaminants, the ministry said.
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The Tamar Regional Council – the area bordering the southern portion of the Dead Sea – ranked third, due to the presence of heavy industry such as Dead Sea Works and the Mishor Rotem Power Station in the region. Jerusalem was the fourthworst city in terms of air pollution levels, with emissions there also resulting primarily from transportation, the ministry said.
In fifth place was the Hof Hacarmel Regional Council, due to the heavy industry in the area. Rishon Lezion, the Darom Hasharon Regional Council and Ashdod closely trailed Hof Hacarmel. All in all, compared to 2012, the 2013 nationwide data showed a 19% decrease in sulfur dioxide emissions, a 40% reduction in respirable particles smaller than 10 microns (PM10), and a decrease in nitrogen oxides.
The Environmental Protection Ministry attributed these improvements to the transition of many industrial and power plants to natural gas, as well as requirements that plants reduce air pollution as a condition for operation.
“We will continue to reveal data consistently, in order for every citizen to know exactly what’s in the air he breathes,” said ministry director-general David Lefler. “The data indicates a sharp decline in air pollution compared to the previous year, and this is thanks to the use of natural gas and our actions in industry that brought about the use of advanced and greener technologies.”
This is the second year in a row that the ministry has released factory emissions data, in accordance with an amendment passed in April 2012 requiring industries to report their pollutant releases. The beginning of the project, as part of the adaptation of the United Nations Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers, was a condition for Israel’s membership in the OECD.
Israel officially acceded to PRTR – also known as the Kiev Protocol – in January 2013, approximately 10 years after the protocol was first adopted at the Aarhus Convention.
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