Ann Eveleth
ENGEN’S oil refineries are the biggest air polluters in the Durban South Industrial Basin, a Durban Water and Waste representative Niel MacLeod said this week.
He told about 200 delegates at a workshop on pollution problems affecting residents of Austerville, Wentworth, Merebank, Isipingo,Lamontville and Umlazi, that Engen produces nearly 48 percent of sulphur dioxide emissions in the industrial basin.
The second largest polluter in the area was the combined South African Petroleum Refineries of Shell and British Petroleum at about 27 percent, MacLeod said, adding that emission levels were coming down and had rarely exceeded the old Department of National Health guidelines.
Macleod was providing the local authority perspective on pollution control problems to the workshop hosted in the Durban City Hall by Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Bantu Holomisa after successful action by community groups brought the issue to the attention of President Nelson Mandela.
Members of the Merebank Residents Association and Wentworth Civic Association protested against pollution levels outside Engen last month as Mandela arrived to address the opening of a new refinery.
A paper presented to the conference by community-based organisations (CBOs) called the Durban South area “a sad case of unplanned urban development allowing polluting industrial development and apartheid high density residential development to occur side by side”.
The CBOs added that “communities in this region may more aptly be described as islands surrounded by a sea of polluting industries. The residential area finds itself on the doorstep of industry on every side. There are two giant oil refineries on either side, a massive paper mill, a chromium processing plant, an airport and a multitude of chemical industries … Many houses border on the factories directly and some families live only 20m from the oil
The CBOs said sulphur dioxide was the major pollution problem experienced in the area, leading to severe health problems, with a recent survey indicating children in the area were three times more likely to develop respiratory problems than those outside the area. A high lead content in the air also retarded the physical development and functioning of children.
In its paper, Engen said it had taken the lead in raising its stack levels to release emissions higher into the atmosphere, but added that the location of the refineries in valleys complicated the problem.