Environmental Data Interactive -- UK  [Printer-friendly version]
August 14, 2006

INDUSTRY UNDER PRESSURE TO PAY FOR POLLUTION IN SOUTH AFRICA

[Rachel's introduction: "While the polluter pays principle is part of
South Africa's legal framework, cases tying emissions to particular
companies are rare due to lack of monitoring and data collection."]

By Sam Bond

Grassroots environmentalists in South Africa are using an academic
study as a lever to demand compensation for deaths and payment for
medical treatment needed for illness linked to industrial sites where
they live and work.

The South Durban Basin is the industrial zone of Africa's busiest port
and home to chemical plants, poorly regulated landfills and two oil
refineries.

Its neighbours and workers have long maintained that their proximity
to the heavy industry is bad for their health but until now have had
little chance of compensation.

While the polluter pays principle is part of South Africa's legal
framework, cases tying emissions to particular companies are rare due
to lack of monitoring and data collection.

A study published by the Centre for Occupational and Environmental
Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal may change that, however, as
it offers scientific evidence that air quality in the basin is worse
than elsewhere in the city and that the companies which run the
industrial installations are, at least in part, responsible for this.

The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance is now using the
study as the basis for a class action demanding free medical treatment
for those affected by the pollution and compensation for the families
of those who have died as a result of it.

Engen, the company which runs one of the two refineries the alliance
alleges are responsible for the lions' share of the pollution, said in
a statement that it welcomed the publication of the report.

It said that a greater understanding the cause and effect of pollution
in the basin was valuable to everyone and pointed out that the study
concluded that there had been significant improvements in air quality
over the past ten years.

The company declined to comment on the possibility of a court case but
suggested a solution to some of the concerns raised by the report
might include establishing a database of Durban companies listing
their potential environmental impact or a toxic emissions directory
for the city, both of which would make it easier to trace particular
pollutants to their source.