A website has been established to keep an eye on the environmental impact South African oil and chemicals group Sasol’s (SOL) operations has on communities in South Africa and the US.
“As members of communities on the fencelines of Sasol facilities, and as concerned citizens of South Africa and the US, we are writing to make you aware of Sasol’s deplorable record of industrial pollution resulting in severe environmental and health problems,” a statement on the website says.
A Sasol representative said the company wouldn’t comment on the website at this stage.
The statement is signed by representatives from South African environmental action group GroundWork, Mossville Environmental Action Now Inc, the South African Exchange Programme on Environmental Justice, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights and the Global Community Monitor.
The establishment of the website coincided with the listing of Sasol’s American Depository Receipt (ADR) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wednesday.
“All potential investors should consider Sasol’s environmentally destructive industrial operations that are jeopardising the lives of people in South Africa and the US,” the website said.
The website cautioned investors to “factor into your investment decision all of the liabilities that arise from Sasol’s hazardous operations”.
South Africans living near Sasol’s polluting facilities in Sasolburg and Secunda, and African Americans living near Sasol’s newly acquired vinyl and chemical manufacturing complex in Westlake, Louisiana have united to publicly expose Sasol’s record of putting profits before the rights of communities and workers, the website said.
The website also called on the group to clean up its operations in South Africa and the US.
According to the website, in southwest Louisiana, Sasol owns and operates a petrochemical facility that has plagued the African American community of Mossville with dangerous levels of toxic chemicals as well as fish and groundwater contamination.
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Release Inventory data for 2000 ranked the facility in the top 10% of industrial companies that create the highest cancer risk from air and water pollution.
In South Africa, air samples taken in 2001 and 2002 by residents of Sasolburg identified elevated levels of many toxic pollutants, including methyl ketone, xylene, styrene, toluene, trichloroethene and vinyl chloride. The website can be found at www.sasolwatch.com – I-Net Bridge