 In 1999 when groundWork started, South Africa was generally regarded as a ‘lawless society’ with regard to governance on air pollution. There were no air pollution standards for both industrial emissions and ambient air quality and there was no independent public air pollution monitoring that could meaningfully direct government to the source of air pollution, despite air pollution been widespread and evident. Thus industry could pollute with impunity and did just that.
The result of this legacy is that vulnerable community people bore the brunt of industrial pollution and continue to do so. In research commissioned for groundWork and local community people in the Vaal Triangle, it is estimated that nine working days per person are lost each year due to air pollution in the area and that government has to foot the bill of approximately 300 million rand (30 million Euros) annually to provide health services for people impacted by air pollution. The report recognises that due to government failure to provide energy to all households, acute illness is caused by indoor air pollution as people burn coal in homes for energy and warmth. This is further compounded by chronic illness caused by the emissions of unregulated industry in the heartland of the South African petro-chemical energy complex. In research carried out by groundWork, it was discovered that 40% of illnesses treated in clinics in Sasolburg – within this industrial heartland – are respiratory-related. In south Durban, independent research undertaken by the Universities of Michigan and KwaZulu-Natal has put the risk of cancer 250 times higher than the norm in residential areas around oil refineries.
Government has attested to these findings in 2006 when the Minister of Environment and Tourism indicated that South Africa spent more than 4 billion rand annually on respiratory problems related to foul air.
Air pollution in South Africa not only affects people’s health, but it places a strain on government coffers as well as the economy. In the government’s State of Environment Report of 2008, government recognises these challenges and indicates that air quality is generally deteriorating in South Africa, health problems are increasing due to air pollution and that greenhouse gas emissions are also increasing.
Linked to the above is the reality that climate change is impacting on South Africa, and indeed Africa, in an ever increasing manner. groundWork understands that this ecological crisis is part of the broader political and financial crisis and seeks to respond to climate change from an energy justice perspective.
However government’s response has not been all dismal. With an increase in civil society activism on air pollution in the last decade, government has produced the Air Quality Act, emission and ambient air quality standards and the Department of Environmental Affairs has declared 3 air pollution priority areas - areas where it is believed that air quality is impacting upon health. Air pollution monitoring has increased, air pollution standards and air quality plans for various major urban areas have been developed , and in certain cases industrial air pollution has decreased. However, it must be recognised that legislation takes years if not decades to develop systems that actually result in improved environmental conditions. This lag time is normal and groundWork recognises that despite having success in getting government to develop the relevant legislation, the challenge lies in ensuring that the required regulations that give meaning to legislation are developed in a manner that strengthens the constitutional commitment to an environment that is not harmful to one's health and well-being. Furthermore challenges lie in attaining the necessary staff at all levels to implement the requirements of the Act.
At groundWork our challenge is to work with community people to monitor the implementation of the legislation and to continually place the requisite pressure on government, and finally to continue our own air monitoring programme which will be independent from government and industry. |
