Eight employees, each of them working for Bezeq in their Tel Aviv Azrieli towers office, have all been diagnosed with thyroid cancer over the past two and a half years.
The troubling string of diagnoses has prompted Bezeq, which is Israel's largest phone company, to bring in disease expert Udi Frischman to examine the patients and to determine whether or not the cases are interconnected. Frischman's investigation has since revealed that there is no connection between the cases.
Thyroid cancer is characterized by the growth of a tumor on the thyroid gland, which is located on the neck, below the Adam's apple. Like other cancers, the exact causes of thyroid cancers are not yet known. One possible cause, however, may be prolonged exposure to radioactive materials.
Bezeq has released an official statement that "it was brought to our attention a few months ago that there has been a rise in the number of reported cancer cases among the employees in our Azrieli offices. Bezeq took the matter seriously in the manner of the strictest precautions possible and has invested considerable time and money to investigate the source of the issue with experts in the field. First and foremost, it is important for us to ensure that there is no immediate risk to employees and as such, we have striven to take extensive radiation tests on the building."
Multiple radiation tests revealed that there are no abnormal radiation levels in the Azrieli center building. Bezeq has concluded that "the cancer cases among our employees occurred at random, and are not the result of any environmental risk factors."
Representatives from the Azrieli building itself added that "according to the tests Bezeq conducted, we have determined that there is no risk in the Azrieli center buildings."