Cleaning up the Kishon River

The Kishon River near Haifa, Israel was another story of environmental contaminants. “It was very polluted from runoff from industry in Haifa,” pointed out Dr. Wilkenfeld. “It launched a whole movement in environmental health and medicine to get it cleaned.” A suspected cancer cluster in Israeli naval divers who trained in the Kishon River and Haifa Bay brought attention to the pollution caused by industrial runoff and petrochemical refineries dumping toxic waste, begun by the British in the 1930s. The continued dumping of waste caused destruction of marine life, increasing with each passing decade.

“There were a wide variety of pollutants,” stressed Wilkenfeld. “To clean up the river, they have to dredge the sediment. It’s difficult and takes a long time. We learned that you shouldn’t release toxic emissions into a river. Occupational medicine is a branch of preventive medicine. We have to try to concentrate on prevention. Once there is pollution it is very hard to fix. The situation has since improved, but cleaning up is a slow process.”

Young navy divers started developing cancers in their 30s, in the early 2000s, he said. The Knesset launched an inquiry, and compensated the soldiers since their service was related to what they developed. Marine life is returning to the river and the Israeli government is funding a clean up effort including dredging the polluted sediment and revitalizing the surrounding area.