IEC Attributes Kiryat Malakhi Building Odor to Buried Agricultural Waste

Israel Electric Corporation has attributed a persistent odor at an apartment building in Kiryat Malakhi to buried organic agricultural waste, rather than its electrical installations. In a response published on November 11, the company said an outside laboratory and an odor specialist had examined the conditions. Residents have described the nuisance as continuing for roughly a year. The company identified the source as “decomposition of organic agricultural waste buried in the ground.” Residents of the new building on Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu Street said the odor reaches apartments, elevators and stairwells, with complaints particularly concerning the parking area and electrical room. Residents have also reported health symptoms, but a medical connection to the odor has not been established. Kiryat Malakhi Municipality said its representatives had accompanied inspections by the water corporation, gas company and Israel Electric Corporation, and that those checks had produced no unusual findings. Mayor Eliyahu Zohar visited the building and sought additional examinations. The municipality said it was still awaiting laboratory results from soil testing when it issued its response. Zohar sent Israel Electric Corporation, Gindi and the landowner a letter demanding urgent attention to the nuisance, a specialist odor investigation and sampling for air pollutants. The municipality said it would continue pursuing the issue despite the building being on private property.