The witness, Dr. S. Libiki: Ministry of the Environment
(Expanded on pages 1642-1644).
- The expert's testimony was reliable and professional in my opinion, and the applicants were unable to undermine what was stated in her opinion, and in the data that was presented in their definition.
Prof. Gad Rennert, Epidemiologist
- In summary, Prof. Rennert's opinion is concerned with the question of whether there is an excess of morbidity and mortality in Haifa, and if so, whether they can be attributed to the air quality resulting from the industrial plants in Haifa.
- Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics for the years 2005-2009, broken down by locality (this is the most recent publication by locality), show that there is a 5.7% excess morbidity in all cancers in Haifa compared to Tel Aviv (a rate that is accepted as tiny and insignificant in such comparisons); the mortality rate from all cancers is 5.5% lower in Haifa than in Tel Aviv; and the mortality rate from all diseases (including diseases other than cancer) is lower in Haifa than in Tel Aviv. Accordingly, it was also found that the average life expectancy among Haifa residents is higher than in Tel Aviv.
- According to the expert, possible explanations for the slight increase in morbidity in all cancer diseases in Haifa compared to Tel Aviv can be found in sub-criteria of morbidity data (differences between residents of Haifa and Tel Aviv in age, origin, socioeconomic index, etc.); preventive behavior (in Haifa more people are screened for bowel cancer); in the pattern of urbanization, and more.
- Rennert notes that mortality data are professionally considered to be more important or reliable data than morbidity data, which are more likely to be subject to regional biases and inaccurate records. In addition, out of the total number of cancers in which there is an excess of morbidity in Haifa, in three of the most common types in the West – breast cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer – there is no excess morbidity in Haifa. Regarding the fourth most common cancer in the West, bowel cancer, there is an excess of morbidity in Haifa, but no connection to air pollution has been proven. Lung cancer is the only one that has been found to be slightly related to air pollution, but as mentioned, its morbidity rates are lower in Haifa than in Tel Aviv. Therefore, according to Prof. Rennert's assessment, the excess cancer morbidity in Haifa, if it exists at all, is not due to exposure to air pollution, but rather to cancers that have no known connection to environmental factors.
- Beyond the health data from the Central Bureau of Statistics that do not indicate excess morbidity in the context of air pollution, data from the monitoring network also do not contribute to the suspicion of excess air pollution in Haifa, as Libiki proved. Therefore, the bottom line is that Haifa as a whole city presents better health data for the most part than Tel Aviv, and that there is no excess air pollution in Haifa beyond that found in other cities in Israel and similar cities around the world.
- As noted above in Prof. Rennert's position on Prof. Lin's opinion, studies show that air, water, and soil pollution is the cause of 2-4% of cancer deaths in the Western world. Air pollution has no known and proven connection to the crops that are common in the West and Israel. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the International Agency for Research on Cancer, has published that particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) found in the open air are possible causes of lung cancer and bladder cancer, but that the association in the literature is with particulate pollution from a transportation source. Data from the World Health Organization, as of 2014, which examined the proportion of particulate matter in the air in 39 regions in Israel, found that the five areas with the lowest particulate matter in the air are in Haifa and its environs. Therefore, it can be determined that exposure to air pollution is not a significant cause of cancer.
- In the years 2005-2007, a study was conducted that included a health survey as part of a city building plan for the Bazan complex, in accordance with the directives of the District Planning and Building Committee and the requirements of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The study examined morbidity rates in different neighborhoods in Haifa, and examined whether there is a relationship between differences in morbidity between the neighborhoods of the city of Haifa and the periphery, and whether there is a relationship between them and environmental exposure data. The study found different morbidity rates, emergency room and hospitalization referrals in the various neighborhoods, and various pollutants were found in the monitoring stations that represent the various neighborhoods in the area, but no connection was found between them. In summary, no material harmful effect was found in the context of cancer diseases of any of the pollutants measured in any neighborhood within the Haifa district that was measured.
Testimony of Prof. Gad Rennert
- Rennert was asked if he knew what each factory (respondent) emits into the air. His answer:
The witness, Prof. Gad Rennert: The only thing I know and that I needed for all my preoccupation with the subject is Familiarize yourself with the pollutants that the Ministry of the Environment measures and is obligated by law to measure. And no, and in fact it doesn't matter to me whether it's the Alef Institute or the Beit Bet Institute or the Gimal Institute. So I'm interested in the saxons, the knuckles, the happy ones, whether it's 2.5 or 10. And to some extent later, dioxin. That's the world of content I'm dealing with. This is the world of content that I researched. This is the world of content about which I can answer you, and as far as I'm concerned, if the sox comes from refineries and the knox comes from carmel olefins, it's completely meaningless. Because that's not the question. I was never asked to give contexts about a specific industry, And the question was pollution in the Gulf, whether or not it has the potential to cause a change in a certain morbidity in cancer. And I am very careful to focus on the scientific question.