It was revealed at a meeting of a joint Knesset panel on health and the environment on Monday that the Health Ministry plans to declare water in a large part of the coastal aquifer unsafe for drinking in the wake of a survey by the Water Authority, which shows that residents of Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Givatayim who live near focal points of water pollution face serious health problems. The report says a number of wells stand to be closed as a result.

Committee Chairman Dov Hanin said, "The pollution of the ground by dangerous materials is a serious and complex environmental hazard. Ground pollution can cause - beyond damage to the ground and ground water - serious health hazards, such as exposure of the public to ground gases which are dangerous to breathe."