Law for the Prevention of Asbestos and Harmful Dust Nuisances, 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
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Chapter VIII: Powers of Inspectors
Authorisation of Inspectors§
51.
(a)Without derogating from the power of the Minister to appoint inspectors from among the employees of the Minister's office 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 pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) unless the conditions listed in section 4 of the Environmental Protection Law are met in respect of that person, with the necessary modifications, and with this modification: in place of what is stated in section 4(1) of that Law there shall come "the person has not been convicted of an offence which, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, is considered by the Minister to be such as to preclude the person's authorisation".
(c)For the purpose of supervising compliance with the provisions of this Law, an inspector may —
(1)require any person to provide their name and address and to present before them an identity card or other official document identifying them;
(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 stationary vehicle, provided that they shall not enter a place used for residential purposes except pursuant to an Order of a court.
(d)An inspector may exercise 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(Repealed — תשע״א)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(Repealed — תשע״א)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 set out 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 maintain a register 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 operations 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 that may cause harm to the public or to the environment, contrary to the provisions of section 28(b);
(7)being a person engaged in asbestos, publishes advertising in respect of that engagement that is capable of misleading, 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 set out 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 for its removal and burial, 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 asbestos cement, contrary to the provisions of section 8(a) or (b)(1);
(4)fails to report to the supervisor or fails to remove or fails to bury asbestos cement, 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 set out 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 nuisance, contrary to the provisions of section 10;
(4)fails to take immediate measures to prevent the continuation of an asbestos nuisance or to halt it and to reduce the risk arising from it, contrary to the provisions of section 11(a), fails to comply with the instructions of the supervisor or of a person authorised by the supervisor for that purpose 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 removing an asbestos nuisance and fails to perform the work in accordance with the permit granted by the supervisor, contrary to the provisions of section 11(c);
(5)a person engaged in asbestos who permits another on that person's behalf to engage in asbestos without a licence appropriate to the performance of 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 a person engaged in asbestos, presents oneself as a person engaged in asbestos or impersonates a licence holder of a person engaged in asbestos, when that person does not hold an appropriate licence, contrary to the provisions of section 15;
(7)a licence holder who fails to fulfil additional duties, restrictions and conditions that have been prescribed as applicable to that person, contrary to the provisions of section 23;
(8)performs 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)performs asbestos work that does not require a permit or violates duties, restrictions and conditions applicable to the performance of that work, contrary to the provisions of section 36(b);
(10)employs a person in the performance of asbestos work without that person having presented a valid licence appropriate to the performance of the work, or fails to employ a person engaged in asbestos whom that person was required to employ for the purpose of performing that asbestos work, contrary to the provisions of section 38;
(11)violates a duty from the duties applicable to that person under section 39;
(12)transports asbestos contrary to the provisions of section 40;
(13)removes asbestos or asbestos waste, evacuates, unloads, stores or buries them, 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 set out in subsections (a) to (c) in an aggravated manner or in aggravating 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 the court was entitled to impose on that person pursuant to the provisions of subsections (a) to (c), as the case may be.
(e)If the offence is a continuing offence, the court may impose an additional fine at a rate of five percent of the amount 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 purposes of this subsection, "benefit" – includes a saving of expenditure;
(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 offences of strict liability;
(2)Where an offence as set out in subsection (b) has been committed, it is 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 violates this duty is liable to a fine as set out 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 the corporation, it is presumed that the employer or the office holder in the corporation has violated the duty imposed on that person under subsection (a), unless that person proves that they did everything possible to fulfil that duty.
(c)In this section, "office holder in a corporation" – an active director in a corporation, a partner other than a limited partner, or another person holding a position 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 set out in section 54(a)(1), (b)(1) and (c)(1), (5), (6) and (8).
Fine Rates§
56.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 221(b) of the Criminal Procedure Law, the Minister of Justice, with the consent of the Minister, may prescribe a fine rate exceeding the amount of the fine prescribed in that section, for an offence that has been prescribed under this Law as a fine offence and also for a continuing or additional 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 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 order, a prohibitory order and any other relief, including the suspension of the licence of a person engaged in asbestos, as it sees fit in the circumstances before it, all for the purpose of preventing, halting or reducing an asbestos nuisance or preventing the commission of an offence under this Law.
(b)The court shall not issue an order as set out in subsection (a) except after giving the defendant an opportunity to present arguments; if the defendant did not appear at the hearing of the application even though duly summoned, the court may decide on the application in that person's absence.
(c)The validity of an order issued as set out in subsection (a) shall be for the period directed by the court and at the latest until the conclusion of the proceedings.
(d)A defendant or a prosecutor may apply to the court for reconsideration of a decision given in respect of an application for an order as set out in subsection (a), if new facts have been discovered or the circumstances have changed and this may alter the court's previous decision.
(e)A defendant or a prosecutor may appeal against a decision in respect of an application for an order as set out 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 under appeal, vary it, set it aside and make another decision in its place, or remit the matter with directions to the body that made the decision.
(g)A court that has convicted a person of an offence under this Law may, in the judgment, in addition to any penalty it imposes –
(1)order that person to remove the asbestos nuisance and to carry out operations for the rehabilitation of the area in which the nuisance was caused;
(2)order that person to pay the costs incurred in removing the nuisance and in the rehabilitation 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 payment of the costs 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 a person engaged in asbestos for a period to be determined, or the revocation of such a licence.
(h)One who considers oneself aggrieved by an order or decision given pursuant to the provisions of subsection (g) may appeal against it as part of the appeal against the judgment.
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Contact Us →Chapter X: Financial Penalty
Financial Penalty§
58.
(a)Where a person has violated a provision from among the provisions under this Law as detailed below, the Director may impose on that person a financial penalty pursuant to 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 maintain a register 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 operations 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 that may 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 violated a provision from among the provisions under this Law as detailed below, the Director may impose on that person a financial penalty pursuant to 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 for its removal and burial, contrary to the provisions of section 7 or the Director's instructions as set out in that section;
(3)failed to carry out maintenance operations on asbestos cement, contrary to the provisions of section 8(a) or (b)(1);
(4)failed to report to the supervisor or failed to remove or failed to bury asbestos cement, contrary to the provisions of section 8(b)(2).
(c)Where a person has violated a provision from among the provisions under this Law as detailed below, the Director may impose on that person a financial penalty pursuant to 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 nuisance, contrary to the provisions of section 10;
(4)failed to take immediate measures to prevent the continuation of an asbestos nuisance or to halt it and to 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 of a person authorised by the supervisor for that purpose 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 removing an asbestos nuisance, and failed to perform the work in accordance with the supervisor's permit, contrary to the provisions of section 11(c);
(5)engaged in asbestos or permitted another on that person's behalf to engage in asbestos without a licence appropriate to the performance of 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 a person engaged in asbestos, presented oneself as a person engaged in asbestos or impersonated a licence holder of a person engaged in asbestos, 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 applicable to that person, contrary to the provisions of section 23;
(8)performed 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)performed asbestos work that does not require a permit or violated duties, restrictions and conditions applicable to the performance of that work, contrary to the provisions of section 36(b);
(10)employed a person in the performance of asbestos work without that person having presented a valid licence appropriate to the performance of the work, or failed to employ a person engaged in asbestos whom that person was required to employ for the purpose of performing that asbestos work, contrary to the provisions of section 38;
(11)violated a duty from the duties applicable to that person under section 39;
(12)transported asbestos contrary to the provisions of section 40;
(13)removed asbestos or asbestos waste, evacuated, unloaded, stored or buried them, 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 violated a provision from among the provisions under this Law as set out in section 58 (in this Chapter – the violator), and intends to impose a financial penalty on that person pursuant to 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 violation;
(2)the amount of the financial penalty and the period for its payment;
(3)the violator's right to present arguments to the Director pursuant to the provisions of section 60;
(4)the rate of the addition to the financial penalty in the case of a continuing violation or a repeated violation pursuant to the provisions of section 62.
Right to be Heard§
60.
A violator who has been given a notice of intention to impose liability pursuant to the provisions of section 59 may present arguments, in writing, to 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 considering the arguments presented pursuant to the provisions of section 60, whether to impose a financial penalty on the violator, and may reduce the amount of the financial penalty pursuant to the provisions of section 63.
(b)Where the Director has decided pursuant to 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 pursuant to the provisions of section 60 within 30 days of the date on which the notice of intention to impose liability was given to that person, that notice shall be deemed, upon the expiry of the said 30 days, to be a payment demand given to the violator on the said date.
Continuing Violation and Repeated Violation§
62.
(a)In the case of a continuing violation, there shall be added to the financial penalty prescribed for that violation a financial penalty at a rate of one fiftieth thereof for each day on which the violation continues.
(b)In the case of a repeated violation, there shall be added to the financial penalty that could have been imposed in respect of it had it been a first violation, an amount equal to the said financial penalty; for this purpose, "repeated violation" – a violation of a provision from among the provisions under this Law as set out in section 58, within two years of a previous violation 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 reason of which it shall be possible to reduce the amount of the financial penalty prescribed in section 58, and maximum rates of reduction to be prescribed by the Minister.
Updated amount of the financial penalty§
64.
(a)The financial penalty shall be in accordance with its updated amount on the day of delivery of the payment demand, and in respect of a violator who did not submit arguments before the Director as provided in section 61(c) – on the day of delivery 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 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 compared with the index that was known on the update date of the preceding year, and in respect of the first update date – as compared with 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 from the day of delivery of the payment demand as referred to in section 61.
Shekel interest and arrears charges§
66.
If a financial penalty is not paid on time, shekel interest and arrears charges shall be added thereto, for the period of delay, 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 pursuant to 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 Director 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 its payment until the day of its 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.
If a financial penalty has been imposed pursuant to this Chapter, the Director 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 on account of which the financial penalty was imposed and its circumstances, and the Director may instruct the violator to publish such a publication at the violator's expense.
Preservation of criminal liability§
69.
(a)Payment of a financial penalty pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter shall not derogate from the criminal liability of a person for a violation of a provision under this Law as referred to in section 58.
(b)If an indictment has been filed against a person for a violation of a provision under this Law as referred to in section 58, that person shall not be charged, in respect of the act constituting the offence, with 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 its payment until the day of its 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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