Law for the Prevention of Asbestos and Harmful Dust Hazards, 5771-2011
חוק למניעת מפגעי אסבסט ואבק מזיק, תשע"א-2011
Published: 2011-04-04Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2025-11-12 · Last amended 2023-11-19✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-29
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Chapter VIII: Inspectors' Powers
Authorisation of Inspectors§
51.
(a)Without derogating from the power of the Minister to appoint inspectors from among the employees of his Ministry under the Environmental Protection Law, the Minister may authorise inspectors for the purposes of this Law from among State employees.
(b)A person shall not be authorised as an inspector under the provisions of subsection (a) unless the conditions listed in section 4 of the Environmental Protection Law, with the necessary modifications, are met, and with this modification: in place of what is stated in section 4(1) of that Law there shall come "he has not been convicted of an offence which, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, the Minister considers as sufficient to prevent his authorisation".
(c)For the purpose of supervising compliance with the provisions of this Law, an inspector may —
(1)require any person to provide him with his name and address and to present before him an identity card or other official document identifying him;
(2)conduct measurements or take samples of materials, and also deliver the measurements and samples to a laboratory, retain them or deal with them in another manner;
(3)enter any place, including a vehicle when stationary, provided that he shall not enter a place used as a dwelling except pursuant to an order of a court.
(d)An inspector may exercise his powers against the State and its institutions, except against the defence establishment.
52.§
(Repealed — תשע״א)
53.§
(Repealed — תשע״א)
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Contact Us →Chapter IX: Penalties
Penalties§
54.
(a)One who does any of the following is liable to six months' imprisonment or a fine as referred to in section 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977 (in this Chapter – the Penal Law), and if a corporation – double the said fine:
(1)fails to conduct an inspection for the detection and mapping of existing use of friable asbestos, contrary to the provisions of sections 5(b) or 6(b);
(1a)fails to conduct a visual inspection at the industrial installation once a week or fails to report to the Director on the findings of such an inspection, contrary to the provisions of the opening part of section 5(a1)(1)(b)(2);
(1b)fails to send to the Director a copy of the documents referred to in section 5(a1)(6), contrary to the provisions of that section, or fails to report to the Director on the asbestos components in the external parts of the power station building in which use has not been discontinued, contrary to the provisions of section 5(a1)(9);
(2)fails to report to the Director on the existence of friable asbestos, fails to conduct registration or fails to mark the industrial installations containing asbestos, contrary to the provisions of sections 5(c) or 6(c);
(3)fails to carry out the necessary actions at an industrial installation contrary to the provisions of section 5(d) or (e), or at a public place, contrary to the provisions of section 6(d) or (e);
(4)fails to provide information contrary to the provisions of sections 9(1) or 27(a);
(5)fails to report to the Director on the non-fulfilment of a condition of the licence, contrary to the provisions of sections 28(a) or 32(f) in fine;
(6)fails to report to the Director on a matter liable to cause harm to the public or to the environment, contrary to the provisions of section 28(b);
(7)being engaged in asbestos, advertises that engagement in a manner likely to mislead, contrary to the provisions made under section 35;
(8)fails to comply with a provision prescribed in the Regulations applicable to that person, pursuant to the provisions of section 78(a)(2) to (5).
(b)One who does any of the following is liable to one year's imprisonment or a fine as referred to in section 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law, and if a corporation – double the said fine:
(1)fails to discontinue existing use of friable asbestos, fails to remove it or fails to bury it, contrary to the provisions of sections 5(a), 5(a1)(5), (7), (8) or (10) or 6(a);
(2)fails to discontinue existing use of asbestos installed in equipment or in vehicles, fails to act to remove it and bury it, or fails to act in accordance with the Director's instructions in connection therewith, contrary to the provisions of section 7;
(3)fails to carry out maintenance operations on cement asbestos, contrary to the provisions of section 8(a) or (b)(1);
(4)fails to report to the Supervisor or fails to remove or bury cement asbestos, contrary to the provisions of section 8(b)(2).
(c)One who does any of the following is liable to two years' imprisonment or double the fine referred to in section 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law, and if a corporation – double the said fine:
(1)manufactures, imports or holds asbestos, trades in it, transfers it to another or carries out a transaction, work or other use of asbestos or asbestos waste, contrary to the provisions of section 3 and not in accordance with the provisions of Chapter III;
(2)fails to act in accordance with the Director's instructions, contrary to the provisions of section 9(2) or 27(b);
(3)causes an asbestos hazard, contrary to the provisions of section 10;
(4)fails to take immediate measures to prevent the continuation of an asbestos hazard or to stop it and reduce the risk arising from it, contrary to the provisions of section 11(a), fails to comply with the instructions of the Supervisor or a person authorised by the Supervisor in this regard contrary to the provisions of section 11(b), or fails to submit to the Supervisor an application for an asbestos work permit for the purpose of eliminating an asbestos hazard and fails to carry out the work in accordance with the permit granted by the Supervisor, contrary to the provisions of section 11(c);
(5)a person who is engaged in asbestos or permits another on that person's behalf to be engaged in asbestos without a licence appropriate for carrying out the work or the engagement or not in accordance with the conditions of the licence, contrary to the provisions of section 14(a), or not in accordance with the duties, restrictions and conditions prescribed for that person, contrary to the provisions of section 14(b)(2) or contrary to conditions under the provisions of section 29;
(6)uses the title of asbestos dealer, presents oneself as an asbestos dealer or impersonates the holder of an asbestos dealer's licence, when that person does not hold an appropriate licence, contrary to the provisions of section 15;
(7)a licence holder who does not fulfil additional duties, restrictions and conditions that have been prescribed as applying to that person, contrary to the provisions of section 23;
(8)carries out work requiring a permit without an asbestos work permit or contrary to the conditions of the permit, contrary to the provisions of section 36(a);
(9)carries out asbestos work that does not require a permit or breaches duties, restrictions and conditions applicable to the carrying out of that work, contrary to the provisions of section 36(b);
(10)employs a person in the carrying out of asbestos work without that person having presented a valid and appropriate licence for carrying out the work, or fails to employ an asbestos dealer who was required to be employed for the purpose of carrying out that asbestos work, contrary to the provisions of section 38;
(11)breaches a duty from among the duties applicable to that person under section 39;
(12)transports asbestos contrary to the provisions of section 40;
(13)disposes of asbestos or asbestos waste, evacuates, dismantles, stores or buries it, contrary to the provisions of section 41;
(14)fails to comply with oral instructions given by the Supervisor, contrary to the provisions of section 48(b);
(15)fails to comply with the provisions of an administrative Order concerning asbestos, contrary to the provisions of section 49.
(d)One who commits an offence as referred to in subsections (a) to (c) in an aggravated manner or in aggravated circumstances as a result of which substantial harm to the public or to the environment has been caused or is likely to be caused is liable to three years' imprisonment or double the fine that a court was entitled to impose under the provisions of subsections (a) to (c), as the case may be.
(e)Where the offence is a continuing offence, the court may impose an additional fine at a rate of five percent of the fine prescribed for that offence, for each day on which the offence continues beyond the period of time prescribed in an administrative Order concerning asbestos or in a written warning from the Director or the Supervisor.
(f)
(1)In respect of an offence committed by a person under this Law as a result of which that person obtained a benefit or profit, for oneself or for another, the court may impose on that person a fine at the rate of the benefit or profit so obtained, in addition to any other penalty; for the purpose of this subsection, "benefit" – includes a saved expense;
(2)nothing in the provisions of this subsection shall derogate from the provisions of section 63 of the Penal Law.
(g)
(1)Offences under subsection (a) are of the type of offences of strict liability;
(2)where an offence as referred to in subsection (b) has been committed, it shall be presumed that the person who committed the offence knew that the offence was committed in connection with asbestos, unless that person proves that they did not know and were not required to know thereof.
Liability of Employer and Office Holder in a Corporation§
55.
(a)An employer and an office holder in a corporation are required to supervise and do everything possible to prevent the commission of offences under this Law by the corporation or by any of its employees; one who breaches this duty is liable to a fine as referred to in section 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law.
(b)Where an offence under this Law has been committed by an employee, by a corporation or by an employee of a corporation, it shall be presumed that an employer or an office holder in the corporation has breached the duty under subsection (a), unless that person proves that everything possible was done to fulfil that duty.
(c)In this section, "office holder in a corporation" – an active director in a corporation, a partner excluding a limited partner, or another office holder in the corporation who is responsible on behalf of the corporation for the field in which the offence was committed, and also a director in respect of an offence as referred to in section 54(a)(1), (b)(1) and (c)(1), (5), (6) and (8).
Rates of Fines§
56.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 221(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Minister of Justice, with the consent of the Minister, may prescribe a rate of fine exceeding the amount of the fine prescribed in that section, for an offence prescribed under this Law as a fixed fine offence and also for a continuing or additional fixed fine offence committed by the same person, having regard to the type of offence and the circumstances of its commission, provided that the amount of the fine shall not exceed ten percent of the maximum fine prescribed for that offence; a fine as aforesaid may be in different amounts or at different rates for corporations, for a continuing offence and for different circumstances of the commission of the offence.
Powers of the Court§
57.
(a)Where an indictment has been filed in respect of an offence under this Law, the court may issue a mandatory injunction, a prohibitory injunction and any other relief, including the suspension of an asbestos dealer's licence, as it sees fit in the circumstances before it, all for the purpose of preventing, stopping or reducing an asbestos hazard or preventing the commission of an offence under this Law.
(b)A court shall not issue an Order as referred to in subsection (a) unless it has given the accused an opportunity to present arguments; if the accused has not appeared at the hearing on the application despite having been duly summoned, the court may decide on the application in the accused's absence.
(c)The validity of an Order issued as referred to in subsection (a) shall be for the period directed by the court and at the latest until the conclusion of the proceedings.
(d)An accused or a prosecutor may apply to the court for a reconsideration of a decision given in respect of an application for an Order as referred to in subsection (a), if new facts have come to light or circumstances have changed and this may alter the court's previous decision.
(e)An accused or a prosecutor may appeal against a decision in respect of an application for an Order as referred to in subsection (a), or against the court's decision on an application for reconsideration; the appellate court shall hear the appeal before a single judge.
(f)The court may affirm the decision being appealed, vary it, set it aside and substitute another decision in its place, or remit the matter with directions to the body that gave the decision.
(g)A court that has convicted a person of an offence under this Law may, in the sentence, in addition to any penalty it imposes –
(1)order that person to eliminate the asbestos hazard and carry out actions for the rehabilitation of the area in which the hazard occurred;
(2)order that person to pay the expenses incurred in eliminating the hazard and in the rehabilitation as referred to in paragraph (1), if the prosecutor or the person who incurred them has submitted an application to the court; where more than one person has been convicted of the offence, the court may, in such a decision, impose the payment of the expenses on all or some of them, jointly or severally, or apportion the payment among them, all as it sees fit in the circumstances of the matter;
(3)direct the suspension of a licence granted to an asbestos dealer for a period to be determined, or the revocation of such a licence.
(h)A person who considers themselves aggrieved by an Order or decision given under the provisions of subsection (g) may appeal against it within the framework of the appeal against the sentence.
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Contact Us →Chapter X: Financial Penalty
Financial Penalty§
58.
(a)Where a person has breached a provision from among the provisions under this Law as detailed below, the Director may impose on that person a financial penalty under the provisions of this Chapter, in the amount of NIS 59,500, and if a corporation – in the amount of NIS 118,990:
(1)failed to conduct an inspection for the detection and mapping of existing use of friable asbestos, contrary to the provisions of sections 5(b) or 6(b);
(1a)failed to conduct a visual inspection at the industrial installation once a week or failed to report to the Director on the findings of such an inspection, contrary to the provisions of the opening part of section 5(a1)(1)(b)(2);
(1b)failed to send to the Director a copy of the documents referred to in section 5(a1)(6), contrary to the provisions of that section, or failed to report to the Director on the asbestos components in the external parts of the power station building in which use has not been discontinued, contrary to the provisions of section 5(a1)(9);
(2)failed to report to the Director on the existence of friable asbestos, failed to conduct registration or failed to mark the industrial installations containing asbestos, contrary to the provisions of sections 5(c) or 6(c);
(3)failed to carry out the necessary actions at an industrial installation, contrary to the provisions of section 5(d) or (e), or at a public place, contrary to the provisions of section 6(d) or (e);
(4)failed to provide information contrary to the provisions of sections 9(1) or 27(a);
(5)failed to report to the Director on the non-fulfilment of a condition of the licence contrary to the provisions of sections 28(a) or 32(f) in fine;
(6)failed to report to the Director on a matter liable to cause harm to the public or to the environment, contrary to the provisions of section 28(b);
(7)failed to comply with a provision prescribed in the Regulations applicable to that person, pursuant to the provisions of section 78(a)(2) to (5).
(b)Where a person has breached a provision from among the provisions under this Law as detailed below, the Director may impose on that person a financial penalty under the provisions of this Chapter, in the amount of NIS 237,990, and if a corporation – in the amount of NIS 475,980:
(1)failed to discontinue existing use of friable asbestos, failed to remove it or failed to bury it, contrary to the provisions of sections 5(a), 5(a1)(5), (7), (8) or (10) or 6(a);
(2)failed to discontinue existing use of asbestos installed in equipment or in vehicles in that person's use, failed to act to remove it and bury it, contrary to the provisions of section 7 or the Director's instructions as referred to in that section;
(3)failed to carry out maintenance operations on cement asbestos, contrary to the provisions of section 8(a) or (b)(1);
(4)failed to report to the Supervisor or failed to remove or bury cement asbestos, contrary to the provisions of section 8(b)(2).
(c)Where a person has breached a provision from among the provisions under this Law as detailed below, the Director may impose on that person a financial penalty under the provisions of this Chapter, in the amount of NIS 475,980, and if a corporation – in the amount of NIS 951,960:
(1)manufactured, imported or held asbestos, traded in it, transferred it to another or carried out a transaction, work or other use of asbestos or asbestos waste, contrary to the provisions of section 3 and not in accordance with the provisions of Chapter III; for this purpose, "asbestos" – includes a product as referred to in section 3(b);
(2)fails to act in accordance with the Director's instructions, contrary to the provisions of section 9(2) or 27(b);
(3)caused an asbestos hazard, contrary to the provisions of section 10;
(4)failed to take immediate measures to prevent the continuation of an asbestos hazard or to stop it and reduce the risk arising from it, contrary to the provisions of section 11(a), or failed to comply with the instructions of the Supervisor or a person authorised by the Supervisor in this regard contrary to the provisions of section 11(b), and failed to submit to the Supervisor an application for an asbestos work permit for the purpose of eliminating an asbestos hazard, and failed to carry out the work in accordance with the Supervisor's permit, contrary to the provisions of section 11(c);
(5)was engaged in asbestos or permitted another on that person's behalf to be engaged in asbestos without a licence appropriate for carrying out the work or the engagement or not in accordance with the conditions of the licence, contrary to the provisions of section 14(a), or not in accordance with the duties, restrictions and conditions prescribed for that person, contrary to the provisions of section 14(b)(2) or contrary to conditions under the provisions of section 29;
(6)used the title of asbestos dealer, presented oneself as an asbestos dealer or impersonated the holder of an asbestos dealer's licence, when that person did not hold an appropriate licence, contrary to the provisions of section 15;
(7)a licence holder who failed to fulfil additional duties, restrictions and conditions that have been prescribed as applying to that person, contrary to the provisions of section 23;
(8)carried out work requiring a permit without an asbestos work permit or contrary to the conditions of the permit, contrary to the provisions of section 36(a);
(9)carried out asbestos work that does not require a permit or breached duties, restrictions and conditions applicable to the carrying out of that work, contrary to the provisions of section 36(b);
(10)employed a person in the carrying out of asbestos work without that person having presented a valid and appropriate licence for carrying out the work or failed to employ an asbestos dealer who was required to be employed for the purpose of carrying out that asbestos work, contrary to the provisions of section 38;
(11)breached a duty from among the duties applicable to that person under section 39;
(12)transported asbestos contrary to the provisions of section 40;
(13)disposed of asbestos or asbestos waste, evacuated, dismantled, stored or buried it, contrary to the provisions of section 41;
(14)failed to comply with oral instructions given by the Supervisor, contrary to the provisions of section 48(b);
(15)failed to comply with the provisions of an administrative Order concerning asbestos, contrary to the provisions of section 49.
Notice of Intention to Impose Liability§
59.
(a)Where the Director has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has breached a provision from among the provisions under this Law as referred to in section 58 (in this Chapter – the violator), and intends to impose a financial penalty on that person under that section, the Director shall give the violator notice of the intention to impose a financial penalty on that person (in this Chapter – notice of intention to impose liability).
(b)In the notice of intention to impose liability, the Director shall state, inter alia, the following:
(1)the act or omission (in this Chapter – the act) constituting the breach;
(2)the amount of the financial penalty and the period for its payment;
(3)the violator's right to present arguments before the Director under the provisions of section 60;
(4)the rate of the addition to the financial penalty in a continuing breach or a repeated breach under the provisions of section 62.
Right to Be Heard§
60.
A violator who has been given a notice of intention to impose liability under the provisions of section 59 may present arguments, in writing, before the Director, regarding the intention to impose a financial penalty on that person and regarding its amount, within 30 days of the date of delivery of the notice.
Director's Decision and Payment Demand§
61.
(a)The Director shall decide, after having considered the arguments presented under the provisions of section 60, whether to impose a financial penalty on the violator, and may reduce the amount of the financial penalty under the provisions of section 63.
(b)Where the Director has decided under the provisions of subsection (a) to impose a financial penalty on the violator, the Director shall give that person a demand to pay the financial penalty (in this Chapter – payment demand); in the payment demand the Director shall state, inter alia, the updated amount of the financial penalty and the period for its payment; where the Director has decided not to impose a financial penalty on the violator, the Director shall give that person notice to that effect.
(c)Where the violator has not submitted arguments under the provisions of section 60 within 30 days of the day on which the notice of intention to impose liability was given, that notice shall, upon the expiry of the said 30 days, be deemed a payment demand given to the violator on the said date.
Continuing Breach and Repeated Breach§
62.
(a)In a continuing breach, there shall be added to the financial penalty prescribed for that breach a financial penalty at the rate of one fiftieth thereof for each day on which the breach continues.
(b)In a repeated breach, there shall be added to the financial penalty that could have been imposed in respect thereof had it been a first breach, an amount equal to that financial penalty; for this purpose, "repeated breach" – a breach of a provision from among the provisions under this Law as referred to in section 58, within two years of a prior breach of the same provision in respect of which a financial penalty was imposed on the violator or in respect of which that person was convicted.
Reduced Amounts§
63.
(a)The Director is not entitled to impose a financial penalty in an amount lower than the amounts prescribed in this Chapter, except pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b).
(b)The Minister, with the consent of the Minister of Justice and with the approval of the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee of the Knesset, may prescribe cases, circumstances and considerations by virtue of which it shall be possible to reduce the amount of the financial penalty prescribed in section 58, and the maximum rates of reduction to be prescribed.
Updated Amount of the Financial Penalty§
64.
(a)The financial penalty shall be in accordance with its updated amount on the day of service of the payment demand, and in respect of a violator who did not submit arguments before the Administrator as referred to in section 61(c) — on the day of service of the notice of intention to impose liability; if a petition was filed with the court and the court ordered a stay of payment of the financial penalty, the financial penalty shall be in accordance with its updated amount on the day of the decision on the petition.
(b)The amounts of the financial penalty as referred to in section 58 shall be updated on 1 January of each year (in this subsection — the update date), in accordance with the rate of increase of the index known on the update date as against the index that was known on the update date in the preceding year, and in respect of the first update date — as against the index that was known on the commencement date; the said amounts shall be rounded to the nearest amount that is a multiple of ten new shekels; for this purpose, "index" means the Consumer Price Index published by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
(c)The Director General of the Ministry of Environmental Protection shall publish in Reshumot (Official Gazette) a notice of the updated amount of the financial penalty pursuant to subsection (b).
Time for Payment of the Financial Penalty§
65.
The financial penalty shall be paid within 30 days of the day of service of the payment demand as referred to in section 61.
Shekel Interest and Arrears Fees§
66.
If a financial penalty is not paid on time, shekel interest and arrears fees shall be added thereto for the period of the arrears, until payment thereof, and the provisions of the Interest and Linkage Law shall apply, with the necessary modifications.
Stay of Payment of a Financial Penalty or its Return§
67.
(a)The filing of a petition with an administrative affairs court against a demand for payment of a financial penalty under the provisions of this Chapter shall not operate to stay the payment of the financial penalty or the publication of the decision pursuant to section 68, except with the consent of the Administrator or if the court so ordered.
(b)If a petition as referred to in subsection (a) is granted after the financial penalty has been paid, the amount paid shall be returned with the addition of shekel interest from the day of payment until the day of return, and the provisions of the Interest and Linkage Law shall apply in respect of such interest, with the necessary modifications.
Publication Regarding the Imposition of a Financial Penalty§
68.
Where a financial penalty has been imposed under this Chapter, the Administrator may publish in a newspaper or in any other manner the fact of the imposition of the financial penalty and its amount, the name of the violator and the nature of the violation for which the financial penalty was imposed and the circumstances thereof, and the Administrator may instruct the violator to publish such a publication at the violator's expense.
Preservation of Criminal Liability§
69.
(a)The payment of a financial penalty under the provisions of this Chapter shall not detract from the criminal liability of a person for the infringement of a provision under this Law as referred to in section 58.
(b)If an indictment is filed against a person for the infringement of a provision under this Law as referred to in section 58, that person shall not be liable, in respect of the act constituting the offence, to the payment of a financial penalty, and if that person has paid a financial penalty — the amount paid shall be returned to that person, with the addition of shekel interest from the day of payment until the day of return, and the provisions of the Interest and Linkage Law shall apply in respect of such interest, with the necessary modifications.
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