Despite a decade of care by expert ecologists at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and two successive monitoring programs conducted by the national ecosystem assessment program ‘Hamarag’, the damaged area is to be cleared of oil-soaked soil. Experts believe there is no other practicable solution. It is, however, believed that birds, gazelles and iconic desert trees (acacia) will survive the upheaval.
Contaminated soil from a 1975 oil spill will be removed at the same time as the pollution caused by the 2014 broken pipe episode, caused by poor infrastructure maintenance by the Europe Asia Pipe Line Company. The extensive operation will be paid for by monies EAPC was obliged to allocate for cleanup, as a result of a 2019 class action.
