CHAPTER 4 PRESENTATION OF THE RESEARCH RESULTS
4.2 ANALYSIS OF CRITICAL QUESTION 2
4.2.2 The follow-up interview
Subsequent to the first interview, I also conducted a follow-up interview with the manager of the SDCEA. The interview was triggered by yet another explosion at SAPREF in April 2015. The aim of conducting the follow-up interview was to find out if there were certain developments pertaining to the issue of air pollution caused by the industries in the South Durban area. The following aspects were highlighted in the interview:
• The cause of the incident, which took place on the 17th of April 2015, was an explosion of the key pipeline carrying fuel along the Durban coastline. Two workers died and one was in a critical condition in hospital. SAPREF’s spokesperson was not willing to give SDCEA a full report about what the exact cause of the accident was. All further attempts by SDCEA to obtain full details
of the cause of the accident were in vain, even after urging the Durban City Council to intervene.
• Engen has more accidents than SAPREF. Processes and events at the refineries, besides explosions, ranged from the constant release of black smoke, the dumping of toxic chemicals, to leaks on flares headers and the release of a
‘rotten egg smell’.
• Most accidents in both refineries were caused by the use of outdated technology and old pipes.
• The use of the “bucket brigade” method to monitor air quality was reliable and effective compared to the municipality’s air quality monitoring stations. The same air quality monitoring stations were good and reliable and were successfully used mostly in developing countries to monitor air quality. In the South Durban area, the air quality monitoring stations were not trustworthy due to the following reasons:
(a) The stations were not constantly checked for faults.
(b) The stations were sometimes not switched on.
(c) The data contained in these was not constantly collected.
(d)There was poor management of the stations in terms of looking after them, and they were not serviced on time.
• More health studies related to pollution and chronic respiratory diseases in the South Durban area are done and the findings continue to relate air pollution to chronic diseases like asthma, cancer, and leukaemia, which are prevalent in the South Durban area as compared to other areas where air pollution is not problematic.
• The evidence used to pin down the giant industries to acknowledge responsibility for air pollution is there. The problem is that the Government is too lenient on the refineries even though they are aware that these companies do not abide and comply with the law that governs the emission of pollutants by these industries. In the past, industries were expected to shut down for six months so that proper fixing and servicing of machines could be done thoroughly. In that period of shutting down, there is no pollution and production. Recently, the industries shut for at least two weeks, although thorough servicing of the machines was not done. This was because the
industries felt that shutting down for a period of six months would reduce their profit. These industries used old and outdated technology, which caused abundant pollutants in the atmosphere.
In first world countries like Britain and the Netherlands, where these refineries originated, they use the most recent technology and do not experience the problem of air pollution, which is experienced by the people in the South Durban area. This is because the government in these first world countries complies with laws that find that once acceptable limits and world standards are exceeded, these companies are shut down. In South Africa, the refineries can emit 19 tonnes a day, whereas in Europe, the limit is two tonnes a day. This is evidence that technology that could minimise or combat pollution is there.
So, what the communities in the South Durban area and the NGOs like SDCEA are fighting for is something that exists, it is only that this country lacks law enforcement.
• Industries should not relocate. The only thing that the industries could do is to implement the Best Available Technology (BAT). Industries should not relocate because of the following reasons:
(a) Wherever they decide to locate they will cause pollution, unless they implement the Best Available Technology.
(b) Employees in these industries woulod lose their jobs if the industries relocated, and they would not be able to feed their families.
(c) Relocation of the industries would cause a socio-economic crisis in the South Durban communities.
(d)Implementing the Best Available Technology results in quality jobs, because this results in healthy people working in industries, healthy workers will thus have quality of life and a prolonged life span.
• Communities too cannot relocate at the expense of the industries. The South Durban area was declared a residential area and not an industrial area.
• Learners of the South Durban area were involved in different meetings and different campaigns that were aimed at demanding the industries to minimise pollution in their area since pollution has adverse effects on the health of the residents in the South Durban area. The schools in the affected areas always
welcomed researchers who intended to do studies regarding issues of pollution in the South Durban area using learners as well as educators.
• The parents of these learners served as watchdogs in the community as they always informed the SDCEA about the flares and explosions in the area so that the SDCEA could come and take samples. The parents were also engaged in workshops and public meetings where air quality and different programmes were discussed.