The Ministry of Environmental Protection has sent another warning to the manager of Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd.'s (TASE: MAIN) pesticide factory in Beersheva after the company spilled treated and toxic waste in the Beersheva River and Park.
The spill was caused when a tractor hit a 17-kilometer pipe that carried hazardous waste from the factory to the company's factory in Ramat Hovav. Makhteshim laid the pipe in 1989 after the courts ordered the company to stop its longstanding practice of dumping toxic waste directly into the Beersheva River.
In recent years, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has sent several warnings about the continuing use of the pipeline for carrying toxic waste, especially after rehabilitation work began on the Beersheva River. The ministry was worried that damage to the pipeline was only a matter of time. The ministry wants the Makhteshim factory to separate its treated waste from its toxic waste.
Makhteshim said in response, "The pipe was damaged by a contractor working for the Beersheva municipality who did not coordinate his arrival to the site with the factory, despite being asked to do so. The pipe was repaired on the same day, and incident was reported to the Ministry of Environmental Protection."
Makhteshim is a subsidiary of Koor Industries Ltd. (TASE:KOR), controlled by IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) of chairman and CEO Nochi Dankner.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 6, 2008
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