JERUSALEM, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Tons of vegetable oil flowed into the Mediterranean Sea as a result of a huge fire that erupted at a factory in the city of Haifa in northern Israel, the state's Ministry of Environmental Protection (MoEP) reported on Friday.

The fire broke out the day before, in Shemen Industries, Israel's leading factory for edible oils.

The fire damaged a warehouse with 80 tons of packed vegetable oil. As a result, huge amounts of oil flowed into nearby streets in Haifa and then to the sea through the municipal drainage system.

Teams of the MoEP marine protection unit located large transparent oil stains between two docks of Haifa Port.

Following the stains detection, the Israel Ports company placed water blocks to clean up the contaminated water, under the supervision of the MoEP.

At the same time, the ministry's Green Police, along with firefighting and rescue forces, started investigating the break out of the fire, which was put out by Thursday evening.

The investigation revealed that the cause of the fire was probably the burning of metal waste near the oil warehouse.

Besides the water pollution in the Mediterranean, the fire also caused air pollution.

The Israeli environmental organization Citizens for Clean Air said that "burning waste is one of the most significant air pollution factors in Israel and is even a real immediate danger to life." Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)