uMhlathuze takes action against air pollution in Richards Bay
The City of uMhlathuze (CoU) has taken a tough stance on air pollution in Richards Bay by resorting to opening criminal charges against offenders.
The city presented a report on its air quality monitoring programme to the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Conservation and Environmental Affairs Portfolio Committee on Friday.
The CoU noted that there were challenges with air quality in the port of Richards Bay. The root cause was dry cargo destined for the Port of Richards Bay inclusive of coal, sulphur, gypsum, and alumina. The handling and transportation of these cargoes is contributing to the dust.
The report stated that no improvements occurred with those fingered for pollution, resulting in a criminal case being registered at Richards Bay SAPS.
However, the report stated that the criminal investigation was temporarily put on hold, and from March 2024 to December 2024, quarterly inter-governmental meetings were undertaken with officials.
The CoU report stated that preparations for air quality management by-laws were approved by the uMhlathuze council and are in the process of gazetting them. Currently, the city has two Environmental Management Inspectors (EMI) to monitor and enforce compliance.
The CoU is a highly industrialised city consisting of various types of industries which include:
- Port of Richards Bay: import and export of various products including dry bulk cargo: coal, chrome, sulphur, etc.
- Smelters, pulp and paper mills, chemical producing, acid and fertiliser producing, mineral mining, blasting and spray painting, sugar cane growing, material handling facilities, etc.
Concerning the air quality monitoring network within the city, there are 13 Air Quality Monitoring Stations (AQMS). Nine are owned and operated by the Richards Bay Clean Air Association (RBCAA).
The AQMS are situated in the Mzingazi Water Treatment Plant, Arboretum Suburb, the Brackenham Cemetery, and in Esikhaleni township, at the Esikhaleni Library.
The CoU reported that industries are reporting their environmental management performance quarterly reports to environmental forum meetings where all spheres of government are represented.
The city stated that over the past years, it has experienced many dust complaints and elevated levels of dust. The dust complaints were mainly related to the handling and transport of coal and other dry cargo destined for the port.
The CoU has 10 dust fallout buckets installed to monitor dust within the Richards Bay area. There are also six dust fallout buckets installed by RBCAA.
Another six buckets were installed by Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ). The CoU stated that major industries also monitor dust fallout and Particulate Matter (PM), reporting to the authorities on a monthly and quarterly basis.
The CoU stated that the disaster management centre, Alton, recorded higher dust fallout results than other sites, although a non-residential limit of 1 200 mg/m2/day was not exceeded.
The Aquadene Library record exceeded the residential limit of 600 mg/m2/day in October due to construction activities.
Director and founding member of RBCAA, Sandy Camminga, said there is nothing in the presentation slides that the RBCAA is not aware of.
“We have a close working relationship with the City of uMhlathuze. We attend all the quarterly environmental forum meetings with industry, all of whom are members of the Richards Bay Clean Air Association. The export of coal via Transnet Port Terminals and the resultant influx of coal trucks has had, and continue to have, significant negative impacts on air quality” she said.
South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) Coordinator, Desmond D’Sa, said the presentation does not address the Class 1 chemicals such as benzene, Toluene, Xylene, and others which should be included in the air quality plan.
D’Sa said the alliance has had an office in Richards Bay since January 2022. He stated that because of the high levels of industrial pollution, residents requested the SDCEA assistance in identifying the toxic pollution affecting their health and quality of life.
“Many explosions and fires have occurred and residents notified us they were unable to access credible and reliable information. With our enormous experience in working jointly with the development of the multi-point plan and air quality management plan in eThekwini, we hope to be invited to participate in the development of the uMhlathuze Municipality local plan that will lead to pollution reduction and the complete removal of the nasty toxic chemicals,” D’Sa said.
The SDCEA intends to make further submissions to the CoU.
D’Sa said they have trained several residents in community science on taking air samples with local equipment purchased and available at the local alliance office.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za