Negev residents but all of Israel and many of its Middle Eastern neighbors will suffer severe contamination akin to that of a nuclear explosion. Hazardous materials transport The facility is accessed from Highway 40 and would eventually also be reachable via Highway 6, which is planned to be extended to the area. Much of the hazardous waste transported to the site from the rest of the country reaches it via an Israel Railways rail line (a branch off of the main line to Beersheba) that terminates at a freight rail terminal located inside the industrial zone. Before the branch line was completed in 2004, hazardous materials bound for Ramat Hovav were transloaded onto trucks at the Be'er Sheva North Railway Station, a fact that delayed the approval of new real estate development in the vicinity of Be'er Sheva North due to the risk of hazardous materials spills occurring during the transloading process. Solar park In December 2014, the largest photovoltaic power plant of Israel's solar sector was inaugurated in Ramat Hovav, over the previously-hazardous dumping site. The 37.5 MW project is owned by Energix Renewable Energies, and was Constructed by Belectric using CdTe photovoltaic modules based on thin-film technology, manufactured by U.S. company First Solar, making it the country's largest PV power plant and one of the largest of its kind in the Middle East. References Bibliography Azmon, E. and Offer, Z. Y. "Pollution of quaternary cover on aquafers of eocene chalk in Ramat Hovav Industrial Area in Israel" Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Netherlands, Volume 44, Numbers 3-4 / April, 1989 "A Socio-environmental Timeline", Bustan, 2006 Borger, Julian. "Palestinians pay price for Israel's toxic waste", Manchester Guardian Weekly (August 2, 1998) Javed, Sofia. "Israel, Palestinians battle over toxic waste", Reuters (August 31, 1999) Manski, Rebecca. "Bedouin Vilified Among Top 10 Environmental Hazards in Israel;" (News From Within, Vol. XXII, No. 11, December 2006) Sarov, Batia, and peers at Ben Gurion University: "Major congenital malformations and residential proximity to a regional industrial park including a national toxic waste site: An ecological study"; Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source 2006, 5:8 External links Official website Government information BUSTAN Naqab Desert Socio-Environmental Timeline BUSTAN: Resources on Negev Development BUSTAN: Resources on Negev Health and Environment Clinic construction at Wadi el-Na'am Recent explosions Call for evacuation by Israeli official Area residents file unprecedented suit against Ramat Hovav About Boot Camp City Environmental