The Environment Justice Networking Forum (EJNF) criticised the South African government on Tuesday for a lack of action in cleaning up the environment of asbestos.
The lobby group’s Limpopo chairman Zac Mabiletja told Parliament’s environment and tourism portfolio committee, asbestos in schools and near rivers was causing untold damage to children and the environment.
”I am extremely worried that asbestos continues to be in our schools.”
A inspection of schools in the Mafefe region of Limpopo showed that seven of 15 school buildings contained the fibre, placing school children at great risk. Government was doing little to deal with the problem, and instead was concentrating all its efforts on rehabilitating mine dumps, which were sometimes several kilometres away from the community.
”Government is concentrating efforts on dumps that are outside the villages… this is important but how important compared to schools and alongside rivers,” he said.
However, Buti Mathebule, the director for chemicals and hazardous waste management at the Department of Enviromental Affairs, disputed this, saying South Africa was making good progress in ridding the environment of the dangerous fibres.
The committee is holding two days of public hearings on asbestos-related matters, that will include presentations from a Zimbabwean government, parliamentary and business delegation. The group includes that country’s mining minister Chindari Chaniga and labour minister July Moyo.
Airborne asbestos fibres can cause serious damage to health, including asbestosis and lung cancer. Asbestosis — also called Mesolothomia — clogs the lungs with asbestos fibre and victims literally choke to death.
The hearings are to serve as preparation for a Southern African Development Community summit on the issue next month, and an international asbestos cement conference in India in March.
Mathebule said the rehabilitation of mines was continuing and the Department of Housing was phasing out the use of asbestos, while public works no longer used it in construction.
South Africa’s last asbestos mine closed down in 2001. He said government’s strategy was still ”work in progress” and it was currently preparing a guideline to phase out asbestos completely.
Deputy environmental affairs and tourism minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi said South Africa had to come to terms with the fact that it had an asbestos industry.
The challenge was to ensure all parts of the asbestos chain, from mining to ultimately removal and waste disposal, was handled responsibly. She said the Department of Minerals and Energy had started rehabilitating mine dumps, but the issue of secondary pollution remained unresolved.
”It is of course unsatisfactory that the mining companies that made huge profits have simply disappeared and did not contribute to this effort.”
It was also extremely disappointing that British mining company, Cape Plc was reneging on its contractual agreement to compensate asbestosis sufferers in South Africa, Mabudafhasi said.
This follows an out of court settlement last year, in which the British group was forced to accept responsibility for the health of former employees and their families.
Cape Plc agreed to pay about 5 000 claimants’ a total of UK21-million (R310-million), but the money has not been forthcoming. – Sapa