Against the backdrop of Operation Roaring Lion and home front preparedness, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has formulated a professional framework for managing environmental risks at debris sites. This initiative addresses the potential for significant amounts of destruction and construction waste resulting from security events.
Minister of Environmental Protection Idit Silman: “Even in the midst of a security campaign, our responsibility to public health and Environmental Protection does not stop. Proper and professional treatment of demolition sites in the early stages prevents unnecessary risks, exposure to hazardous materials, and long-term environmental damage. We stand alongside the local authorities and provide them with all the professional tools and necessary guidance to ensure that dealing with the destruction is carried out safely, responsibly, and with an environmental standard”.
The outline was conveyed to the heads of the local authorities via the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel, and it is based on accumulated experience from disaster and combat events in Israel and around the world and includes clear operational do’s and don’ts for the primary treatment of demolition waste.
Demolition waste in emergency events may contain hazardous components such as asbestos fragments, electronic waste, gas cylinders and tanks, containers with hazardous materials, and chemical residues. Uncontrolled treatment of this waste may cause exposure to toxic materials, soil and water contamination, emissions of pollutants into the air, and a real risk to emergency crews and the public.
Within the framework of the outline, it was determined, among other things, that demolition sites must be immediately demarcated and secured, a survey and identification of risks must be performed prior to evacuation, hazardous waste must be separated at the source from regular construction waste, mixing or burning of waste must be avoided, and evacuation must be ensured exclusively via authorized contractors and to authorized sites, with full documentation of the evacuation chain.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection operates in close cooperation with the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel and with emergency and rescue entities and places all its departments and professional apparatus on full alert for the purpose of accompanying the authorities, advising, and providing them with ongoing assistance. The goal – to prevent long-term environmental and health damages, to protect public health, and to ensure optimal functional continuity on the home front even under emergency conditions.
The Ministry will continue to monitor developments in the field and update the guidelines and the national response as necessary.
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