:A So as I said my Ph.D. work involved, the analytical techniques As I said, my work, my work on my Ph.D. Mine, what it involved were analytical techniques. That are used in air monitoring for some chemicals Air Monitoring Uses in Relation to Certain Chemicals. And I have spent most of my last 35 years And for the most part, the main part of the last 35 years in areas where I was designing monitoring systeMs. I was involved in the design of monitoring systems analyzing data for monitoring systems, Analyzing data from monitoring systems. And evaluating the effectiveness of monitoring systeMs. and in evaluating the effectiveness of the monitoring systems (page 1585) (See also her testimony at length on pages 1588-1601).
- In light of all that is presented in this judgment and my impression of the expert's testimony, I have not found that the Applicants have been able to cast serious doubts on the professionalism or expertise of S. Libiki in the field of monitoring and air quality, nor in what is presented and concluded in her opinion, on the basis of the monitoring data and other available information that was available to her from the various sources, as detailed above, inter alia above.
- It is not superfluous to note that no real practical attempt was made by the Applicants to refute the data appearing, for example, in Libiki's opinion, except for a theoretical question as to whether she would change her mind if she was presented with data that contradicted those with whom she worked and analyzed, and which she received the answer "...I need to look at data before I can say yes or no" (see her interrogation at length, pp. 1497-1499).
Comparison to the national average
- One of the Applicants' arguments in summary is that the opinion on their behalf, as well as Prof. Grotto's documents, show that there is excess morbidity in Haifa Bay compared to the national average of heart disease, cancer [what type of cancer is not specified?] and more.
- In the Kishon case , it was held, inter alia, that "...The central question is whether the preliminary question is whether the appellants' excess morbidity has indeed been proven, in comparison to a control group that is identical or similar in its characteristics" (ibid., paragraph 16 in the middle). And later on, "... However, in the absence of proof of excess morbidity, in the absence of evidence that the plaintiffs' case is different from that of other patients in the population who have contracted the disease at a typical age of the same disease (thus, for example, testicular cancer patients are usually younger prostate cancer patients), and in view of various and well-known risk factors such as smoking or sun exposure, the claim should be dismissed.
- The significance of what has been determined is clear: the morbidity data of the population of the city of Haifa and its environs (HaMifra) should be compared to a relevant and reflective comparison group, so that the comparison will have reliable medical-scientific statistical validity. The comparison to the national average does not meet this condition.
- Similarly, in the report of the Sadetzky Committee (Exhibit M/46), Chapter E, Section 1, "Goals and Objectives", specific details were written relevant to the subject of cancer morbidity, for Goal No. 1, and it was emphasized that:
... To determine the geographic patterns and the rates of the presence of different types of morbidity in the population of the region, in comparison with two control cities: File-Civilian and Hadera.... Even in the absence of significant calculations (reliable interval), these results do not demonstrate an excess of cancer in the Haifa area. It is important to note that the comparison to the national average is irrelevant, since by the nature of the national average, there are localities that will see large rates and those in which lower rates will be observed. Such differences are expected, especially in large sample sizes, and therefore comparisons should be made, as determined, against similar localities (urban and/or industrial in nature) and in which residents with similar demographic-social characteristics live to the extent possible (ibid., p. 31).