Health security

In the aftermath of Tuesday and Wednesday’s severe dust storm, a Ben-Gurion University researcher stressed that such events should catalyze change in the residential construction industry.

“There is no way to run during dust storms,” Dr. Itzhak Katra, a senior lecturer in the university’s’ geography and environmental development department, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. “Buildings must be planned a bit differently with all these health considerations.”

On Wednesday, the concentration of PM10 – dust particles with a diameter of 10 microns or less – rose on average to approximately 40 times their typical values, according to Environmental Protection Ministry measurements taken around the country.

Expert: Dust storms pose health risks, even indoors