Air quality Project
Project Co-ordinator: Ardiel Soeker
| Read the Oilwatch
South Africa Bulletin (Winter 2003) |
 The
20th Century, also known as the chemical century,
produced many wonders and innovations in the name
of so-called "progress". However,
what it also produced were many new dangerous and
hazardous chemical substances. Many, many man-made
chemicals enter our environment as products of manufacture
as well as unintended by-products in the form of air
pollution.
Poor people usually bear
the brunt of the negative impacts of this progress, whilst benefitting
the least from its wonders and innovations. |
| Community
action to clean up the oil industry in south africa |
| National
Report on Community based Air Pollution Monitoring in South Africa
- Air Pollution in Selected Industrial Areas in South Africa,
2000 - 2002 |
In South Africa, oil, gas and coal refineries constitute
some of the biggest industrial polluters. South
Africa as a developing country is often the recipient
of outdated machinery and technology. Foreign-owned
companies, like BP and Shell, can operate refineries
in South Africa on poorly maintained, outdated infrastructure,
reaping huge profits, whilst emitting levels of pollution
much higher than that permitted in their home countries. |
groundWork's Air Quality Project is designed
to enable communities to defend themselves in the
face of serious problems of industrial air pollution
in South Africa. The objective of the Air Quality
Project is to ensure that communities affected by
industrial air pollution are better able to defend
and promote their environmental interests at local,
national and international levels. |
"There's so much pollution in the air now
that if it weren't for our lungs there'd be no place
to put it all." Robert Orben, writer |
The Project has several goals
The project aims to deliver a number of outputs, namely:
community air pollution monitoring systems; technical assistance
for communities; community links with national and international
community organisations; a national report on the status of
industrial air pollution; the development and implementation
of a national civil society strategy on air quality; and
a media strategy and information service. These outputs are
described in more detail below.
 Community
air pollution monitoring systems to be developed
groundWork has been working with communities in Sasolburg,
South Durban, Secunda, Cape Town and Swaziland to develop
community based air monitoring systems. These communities
have all taken bucket air samples during the past two years.
The results of these bucket samples have revealed elevated
levels of dangerous pollutants in all of these areas.
Community monitoring systems are being developed in
these identified hotspots. These monitoring systems include activities
such as training individuals to take air samples, and developing “sniffers”
in the community who will be observant to the smells of different chemicals
and other signs of pollution resulting from inefficient management and
operations of the refineries and industries.
This is supplemented by additional forms of monitoring -
such as asking teachers to record the health complaints of learners, monitoring
clinic records, attaining information from industry and government air
monitoring programs, and from refinery and industry emission inventories.
Technical assistance will supplement community monitoring
groundWork is providing technical assistance to supplement
community monitoring and to assist in negotiations with industries
in order to affect improvements in air quality.
A response strategy to support communities affected by specific
incidents at refineries and other industries is also an important element
within the Air Quality Project. South African refineries are notorious
for their high number of serious incidents or adcidents. In the
past year alone every one of the refineries in South Africa experienced
a major accident resulting in the loss of workers’ lives or in injury.
groundWork seeks to build confidence and knowledge among affected
communities through its response strategy.
Linking local communities with national and international
community organisations
 The
project aims to build community links between local and international
community organisations. This will further build confidence
and deepen understanding of pollution struggles within South
Africa. Learning and sharing experiences towards joint action
will be the key objectives of theses interchanges. Moreover,
these exchanges will break the isolation of refinery communities
and place their struggles in the context of national and international
struggles.
National report on the status of industrial air pollution
to be generated annually
A national report on the status of industrial air pollution
will be generated annually. The 2002 National Report
is almost completed and will be released in early 2003.
This report has been informed by the community monitoring data, community
exchanges and other relevant information, in order to provide
alternative information to decision makers. The report will
be an advocacy tool to be used by communities in negotiations
with industry and government.
Towards a national civil society strategy on air quality
Another key component of the annual pollution status report
is the development of a civil society strategy on air pollution.
Accordingly a national civil society strategy workshop was
hosted by groundWork in Sasolburg in July 2002.
Media service to focus on pollution information
In addition to the above, groundWork provides a media and
information service to the affected communities in order to
expose dirty industries, and provide the media with credible
information on pollution and industry. History will never be the same!
groundWork’s underlying core to achieving these
outcomes is the building of capacity amongst communities that
have until just recently always considered themselves powerless
in the face of the might of industry. They have relied on
information from industry and they have been denied the benefit
of alternative, non-profit driven support. History will
never be the same!
National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act no:
39 of 2004. Signed by President Mbeki on the 19 February 2005.
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