American tests show a lethal cocktail of chemicals in the air just south of Johannesburg
Paul Kirk The air in South Africa’s industrial heartland is laced with lethal chemicals and fumes that attack the brain, central nervous system, liver, kidneys and lungs. This is the finding of independent testing of the air around Sasolburg, just outside of Gauteng. The tests have found very high concentrations of 16 very dangerous chemicals in the air. Seven of these chemicals are known causes of cancer. Some have been found to be eight times higher than the maximum levels allowed in the United States. Nearly all are potentially lethal in high concentrations, but environmentalists say nobody is certain what they do in combination with each other. The findings were made last month by US experts brought to South Africa by the South African Exchange Programme on Environmental Justice, an NGO run by South Africans and based in Boston. The American team collected air samples from south Durban and Sasolburg in “buckets” – special devices that collect air samples in plastic bags. These samples were then flown to Los Angeles to be tested by an independent laboratory. Until now nobody knew exactly what was in the air around the two heavily industrialised areas. There are no laboratories in South Africa that are certified by the South African Bureau of Standards to test air pollution. Like the south Durban sample that was made public two months ago, the Sasolburg test contained high levels of dangerous chemicals that shocked the Americans as well as local environmental campaigners. But the Sasolburg test showed a larger mixture of poisons was present than in Durban. Dr Wilma Subra, technical adviser to the San Francisco-based Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), which helped perform the tests, is alarmed that “the larger variety of toxic chemicals adds to the individual and cumulative health burden on the neighbouring communities”.
Denny Larson, the director of CBE, said the levels of benzene found in Sasolburg were the highest ever found in a “bucket” – eight times the US legal limit. Benzene is a proven cause of leukaemia and anaemia, and is chemical known to attack the immune system. Large concentrations of carbon tetrachloride were also found. This chemical attacks the kidneys and livers of humans. It is also a known cause of cancer. Toulene, one of the more dangerous chemicals in existence, was also present. Toulene attacks the human brain and can cause permanent brain damage, tiredness and confusion. It also attacks the kidneys. Carbon-disulfide, a chemical that causes severe chest pain, is also in the air in quantity. This chemical attacks the brain, blood, liver and eyes of humans. The composition of the chemical cocktail in the air is such that environmentalists say no one industry in Sasolburg can be blamed for the pollution. The chemicals point fingers at a variety of industry types. Alarmed by the results of the tests, Sasolburg mayor Paul Maboe has asked for assistance from NGOs in clearing up his town. Said Maboe: “We have to find a solution to the pollution problems in the Sasolburg area. A three-pronged strategy must be adopted. Firstly, the community in Sasolburg must be made aware and educated about the toxic pollution they are breathing; secondly, the industry in the area must accept responsibility for polluting our environment, and thirdly, we all need to work together to fight pollution in order to attain sustainable long-term development in Sasolburg.
“This is the reason why the community of Sasolburg needs the assistance of environmental NGOs in order that the above objectives can be attained.” Bobby Peek, the director of Groundwork – the NGO that coordinated the testing – said the Gauteng-based Environmental Monitoring Group and the Group for Environmental Monitoring will be visiting Sasolburg this weekend to deliver the results to the community and to start a plan to assist the mayor and the people of Sasolburg in attaining sustainable development and a safe and healthy environment.
Said Peek: “In a new democratic South Africa we are confident the various industries in Sasolburg and government can work together with the community to clean up the Sasolburg environment, in order to give meaning to Section 24 of our Bill of Rights, which calls for a clean and healthy environment.” After the Mail & Guardian reported in July on the group’s findings in the south Durban area, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Mohammed Valli Moosa announced that the government intended to rework the legislation governing pollution. At present industry is left to monitor itself and pollution levels are not checked by the government.
Moosa could not be reached for comment, but sources within his ministry said it was attempting to source funds to begin monitoring the polluters.