The Jewish Ethicist – Pollution
From aish.com By: Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem
Q. Does Jewish law forbid pollution? Does the polluter have to pay damages, like anyone else who causes harm?
A.Among the very first commandments given in the Torah are those providing for payments for damages. In chapter 20 of the book of Exodus we have the revelation on Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments, and in the very next chapter we find the nuts and bolts of damages for battery, damages caused by animals, and so on.