The mayor of Haifa ordered on Sunday the closure of plants run by Israel’s largest refining and petrochemicals group, Oil Refineries, following a report showing high cancer rates in the port city. Oil Refineries said its operating license and that of a number of its subsidiaries had been canceled in Israel’s third largest city, which is heavily industrialized. A report issued by the Health Ministry last week said that data collected over the past decade showed a higher rate of cancer in the Haifa area compared to the national norm, possibly because of bad air pollution. In a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Sunday, Oil Refineries, which is controlled by conglomerate Israel Corp, said it had received notices from the mayor’s office confirming the cancellation of its business licenses.
