December 19th, 2005

It has been reported that the government in Israel has had to put a hold on asbestos clearance around the country due to constraints stemming from the available budget for this type of work. The Environment Ministry made an announcement last week with regards to its plans to halt work on all asbestos removal projects around the country due to the monetary situation.

The Civil Service Commission has been contacted by the Environment Ministry with regards to solving the issues with budgets, but in the meantime officials have written to contractors to inform them of the decision to halt further works on asbestos clearance projects. Insurance funding for the workers has also not yet been arranged.

The Prime Minister has been informed by Environment Ministry officials that they can no longer continue to supervise asbestos clearance projects around the country until the budgetary problems have been resolved. Contractors were initially employed a few years ago to work on asbestos clearance projects after limitations were placed on the use and presence of asbestos within buildings.

The Environment Ministry is the only body responsible for the clearance of asbestos in places where it could create the risk of exposure, and the contractors employed have been working on behalf of the Ministry.