Eddie Koch
A COMMISSION set up this week to probe Thor Chemicals’ importation of toxic waste to South Africa may be presented with evidence of links between employees of the British multinational and a covert weapons
The Environmental Justice Network Forum (EJNF), a coalition of environmental groups, this week said it feared the commission would not be able to probe “very serious matters” regarding Thor’s past activities.
But commission chairman Dennis Davis said he would investigate all evidence regarding Thor’s past activities in South Africa even though its main task is to finds ways of dealing with a stockpile of toxic waste on Thor’s premises in the Natal Midlands.
“We will interpret our terms of reference broadly. Whatever evidence comes up, we will have to examine that,” said Davis.
He was responding to complaints from EJNF that terms of reference for the commission, gazetted this week, contained stringent secrecy clauses that pointed to the possibility of a “sinister effort to cover up and prevent the discovery of very serious matters”. can cut from here
Davis said the secrecy clauses were part of the standard procedures for commissions of inquiry and would not prevent his team from making a thorough and public probe into Thor’s controversial history in this
The terms of reference for the probe, set up by Environment Minister Dawie de Villiers, are to “investigate the history and background of the acquisition of spent mercury catalyst stock by Thor” and “recommend the best practical environmental option to deal with the problem”.
Thor has been accused of polluting groundwater and the atmosphere around with large amounts of mercury toxins that emanate from a smelter on its plant at Cato
The families of two workers who died at the factory, allegedly after being exposed to massive levels of hazardous gases, are suing the company for damages in a British court. A hearing to decide whether the civil action should be heard in England or South Africa begins in London next week.