Thousands of jobs at stake: The Rotem Amfert plant dilemma

For Eden Gal, the dispute over the phosphogypsum ponds of Rotem Amfert is not just a legal battle between a corporation and environmental organizations. After almost 37 years in the plant's research and development department, this is a fight for her second home and for the future of the young workers she meets every morning.

"I'm almost at retirement age, but I look at all the young people at the plant, with mortgages and children," she says. "It hurts me that they are playing with their livelihood and their lives. I know the processes and I know how strict we are. For five years they worked on Pond 4 and introduced measures to prevent pollution. We were told the plan was approved, and then suddenly we discovered that everything was opened up again."

However, the debate is not really between the workers and the environmental organizations. Lobby 99 emphasizes that the workers are not responsible for the crisis, and the criticism is directed at the company's management, which the organization claims knew for years that it had to promote a permanent solution, but is now placing the workers' anxiety at the forefront.

The Pond Dispute

At the center of the struggle are three ponds for storing phosphogypsum, the waste generated in phosphate processing. Pond 5 is the active reservoir, and according to the company, it will be full by April 2027.

Pond 4 is an old reservoir that Rotem Amfert is asking to re-qualify as a temporary solution for five years. It is located above the drainage basin of Nahal Ashalim, where groundwater pollution already exists, leading environmental authorities to warn against the seepage of pollutants and the risk of a breach.

Pond 6 was planned as a permanent solution for 30 years, but its construction is significantly more expensive. Opponents argue that the company is choosing the cheaper alternative for itself, whose public cost could be much higher.

"People walk with their heads down"

The Southern District Committee approved the plan, but following a petition filed by Lobby 99 and the Society for the Protection of Nature, the District Court allowed an appeal to be filed with the National Planning and Building Council. The hearing is scheduled for the end of October.

"People walk with their heads down and go into the holidays without knowing if they will return," says Avishai Baskar, manager of the department that pays the site's yard contractors. "In the Negev, there are not many places that offer such quality employment. We are talking about about a thousand direct employees and thousands more families in the circles of contractors and service providers."

Chairman of the Subcommittee on Appeals, Adv. Moran Braun, noted that the company's claim regarding severe consequences was presented "without sufficient support," and it is unclear whether any delay beyond April 2027 will indeed lead to a shutdown.

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Environmental Context

The dispute began with a 1998 plan that ordered the cessation of the use of old ponds and their rehabilitation. In 2017, the wall of Reservoir 3 collapsed, causing a major environmental disaster in Nahal Ashalim. Following this, Rotem Amfert paid 115 million shekels for rehabilitation works.

In the background is also the struggle over phosphate mining in the Sde Brir field. A professional opinion relied upon by the Ministry of Health estimated that dust emissions could lead to seven excess deaths each year. The Ministry of Health continues to oppose the promotion of mining, but a final decision has not yet been reached.

Dr. Oded Keinan, an ecologist and co-CEO of the Heschel Center for Sustainability, argues: "The state grants the corporation a concession and receives royalties, but a gap is created between the company's profits and the return the public receives for a depleting resource. If the danger is real, the government should prepare now for the day when the plant will not be profitable, rather than using the workers to exert pressure."