Kishon River

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Kishon river near Haifa Chemicals
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Kishon river near Haifa Chemicals

Kishon River is a river in Israel that flows into the Mediterranean Sea at the city of Haifa.

Considered the most polluted river in Israel, it has been the subject of controversy regarding the struggle to improve the water quality.

The pollution stems in part from daily contamination for over 40 years with mercury, chemicals, heavy metals by nearby chemical plants.

It is often claimed today that there are more chemicals than water in the river, and that washing ones hands in this river can cause severe chemical burns. On several occasions this river has caught fire from the chemical contaminants.

In recent years, it was discovered that Shayetet 13 veterans had high occurrence of cancer, probably due to training in the polluted Kishon River & Haifa Bay. A commission for investigating the matter didn't find statistical evidences that the diving in the Kishon caused the cancer. However, Minister of Defence, Shaul Mofaz, decided to compensate the divers' families in spite of the commission findings.

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