In 2022, we turned to the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, seeking remedy for the government of Israel’s failure to act against PFAS, the extensive group of toxic chemical compounds that pollute the environment and damage human health. See article here.
Our petition (8950/22) sought three main remedies:
- Regulations on use, import/export, packaging etc., in line with Israel’s Hazardous Substances Law (1993);
- Changes in the thresholds of PFAS classification and exemptions; and
- Publication of regulations relating to storage and disposal of PFAS compounds.
We included a demand that the State of Israel take all the appropriate steps necessary to ratify the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, in effect from 2004, that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants.
The court granted the State ninety days in which to present a detailed schedule of regulatory actions for responding to the proliferation of PFAS. Due to the outbreak of war on October 7, the Ministry of Environmental Protection requested a further extension, citing its concerted efforts to advance the regulatory process and steps taken to date, including consultations with multiple agencies and industrial stakeholders. The respondents asked the Court to dismiss the case.
Amit Bracha, attorney and CEO of Adam Teva V’Din comments that the European Union has drafted a broad EU Chemical Strategy of coordinated actions to cut PFAS use. He said, “We believe that our watchdog intervention has spurred government ministries to action, but we need to see evidence of a comprehensive program and detailed schedule for reducing and banning PFAS compounds in Israel, without further delay.”
