The rate of mesothelioma in Nahariya - a coastal town of about 50,000 near the Lebanese border and a popular tourist destination - is ten times higher than it is for the remainder of the Israel.

In an article in Haaretz, the chief doctor of the Health Ministry’s Acre District, Shihab Shihab, to the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee, said she attributes 70% of incidences of mesothelioma to asbestos exposure. She did not indicate what she believed caused the remaining cases but she did note that smoking contributed to the development of meso among those who were exposed to the hazardous mineral.

Head of the Environment Ministry’s Asbestos Department Tamar Bar On said that “between 70 and 150 thousand cubic meters of asbestos can be found scattered across the Western Galilee region.” The material is mostly found in the yards of private homes - especially in Nahariya and the Matte Asher Regional Council, she added.

The Environment Ministry of Israel has earmarked money for the cleanup of asbestos in the Nahariya area in the past, the article notes, but none of the money has been used where it is needed.

According to Internal Affairs Committee Chairman Ophir Pines-Paz, “residents pay for this hazard with their lives, and instead of running from minister to minister with budget requests, the city council is busy planting flowers.”

“The city council’s aim to prevent panic and avoid harming the area’s tourism looks like one of the reasons that the subject hasn’t received the appropriate emergency treatment up until now,” added local politician Yossi Beilin.

The Internal Affairs Committee has promised to address the problem in the near future.

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