The Green Scorpions have uncovered another 20 tons of medical waste, buried at an unused gold mine of Harmony Gold outside Welkom, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
Jay Singh of the Environmental Management Inspectorate (Green Scorpions) said the medical waste, which included sharps, pharmaceuticals, vials, syringes, drips, dirty bandages and general medical waste, was buried at the site.
It should have been treated and disposed of as required by law.
This was the fourth illegal dumping site of medical waste uncovered by the Green Scorpions in the Welkom area recently.
Singh said the latest site, at one of the old Welkom mine shafts, was found on Wednesday as a result of the Department of Environmental Affairs’s ongoing investigation into the illegal dumping of medical waste.
”The area is not located near to any communities or sensitive environmental areas and Harmony Gold has taken responsibility for ensuring that the area is secured and cannot be accessed by the public,” said Singh.
”The department is investigating links between the burial of medical waste at the other three Welkom sites and this latest one.”
The Green Scorpions have served compliance notices on Wasteman in Krugersdorp, Gauteng, in connection with the previous sites that were uncovered, in order to ensure the clean-up and rehabilitation of these sites.
”A similar notice will be issued in relation to this newly discovered site,” said Singh. He could not confirm whether the latest site was linked to Wasteman.
He said a service provider has already been appointed to clean up the first dumping site at Maximus Bricks near Welkom.
Singh said the department agreed to an extension until Friday for Wasteman to provide reasons why its incinerator should not be closed down permanently, which would result in the closure of the facility.
Singh said the department’s investigation team was scheduled to meet prosecutors on Thursday to discuss possible criminal charges.
”The maximum penalties for committing these offences are R10-million or 10 years’ imprisonment, or both,” he said.
Marian van der Walt, spokesperson for Harmony Gold, said the company was appalled at the dumping of medical waste on its property.
”We will definitely be pressing criminal charges against the guilty party,” she said.
She said Harmony Gold owned three hospitals, including the Ernest Oppenheimer hospital in Welkom, and it had strict regulations in place to process medical waste.
Wasteman’s lawyer, Brad Thomas, said he had not heard about the new dumping site and declined to comment.
”We are dealing with DEAT [Department of Environmental Affairs] and cooperating with them,” he said about the steps taken against Wasteman. — Sapa