Conservationists angry over illegal plant
31 December 2007, 08:52
By Anna Louw
Environmentalists are angry at what they believe to be a chromium-processing plant operating "clandestinely and illegally" from an important catchment area which provides water to half the Tshwane area.
It is feared that the plant, situated on a smallholding in Elm Street in Petit, near Benoni, is posing a serious health risk and could already have contaminated groundwater in the area.
The area is also the catchment for the Rietvlei Dam, from which nearly 50 percent of Tshwane gets its water.
Hexavalent chromium has raised a red flag to environmentalists in the area, who see it as a health hazard.
Anne Mearns, who received a United Nations Environmental Global Progress Award for environmental conservation in 1998, lives about 500m from the site.
The company's name is still unknown. There are no signboards displaying the company's name and it does not appear on any of the buildings at the plant.
Big white bags with chromium written in big black letters on the site alerted environmentalists to what was being processed at the plant.
The owner of the plant lives a few kilometres from the site, but the premises are locked and there is nobody at home.
Mearns said she had desperately been trying to alert the authorities to the problem, but had received no response to date.
Nicole Barlow, chairperson of the Environment and Conservation Association, said residents on nearby smallholdings had alerted her to the problem a few days ago.
She said hexavalent chromium can cause a wide range of serious health problems, such as birth defects, infertility, itching, nosebleeds, ulcers and holes in the nasal septum.
Ingestion of very high doses can cause kidney and liver damage, irritation of the gastrointestinal tract, stomach ulcers, convulsions and even death.
Mearns confirmed that she had written eight letters to the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment (GDACE) since August last year and had yet to receive a response.
Barlow expressed outrage that the plant, tucked away among the smallholdings, had been allowed to operate without the necessary safety measures being put in place.
These included proper signage to warn people of the dangers and implementing adequate ground protection such as in the case of a landfill site, to prevent seepage into groundwater and the environment.
After residents alerted Mearns, she conducted an investigation and found that the site had been operational before August last year.
She pointed out that such plants were prohibited from operating in industrial areas and that special permits from the GDACE had to be granted and were subject to stringent conditions.
Mearns explained that the plant was situated in an important catchment area and that about 98 percent of the residents in the vicinity were dependent on groundwater, which she suspected was already contaminated.
She said that according to the latest tests conducted by Pretoria University, most of the contaminated water in Rietvlei Dam came from the Benoni area.
Underground rivers flow from the west of Daveyton into Rietvlei Dam and the pollutant from the suspected chromium-processing plant would be a serious threat to the environment, Mearns added.
She fired off a letter last week to MEC Khabisi Mosunkutu to determine whether his office had granted a record of decision to the owner of the plant and if so, to inform him or her that it was a contravention of the National Environmental Management Act and to demand that operations be stopped immediately.
Sizwe Matshikiza, spokesperson for the GDACE, said he was unaware of the existence of such a plant, but promised that he would find out whether there had been an application for the plant to operate and if so, whether it had been granted and what the terms and conditions were.
Justice Maluleke, the assistant director of water quality management at the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, said he had no knowledge of the plant but gave the assurance that he would order an immediate investigation.
Mearns also expressed concern over the safety of bullfrogs, the size of dinner plates, which breed at Bullfrog Pan in Benoni.
Bullfrogs are a red data species and their survival is being threatened by the loss of habitat.
Environmentalists are angry at what they believe to be a chromium-processing plant operating "clandestinely and illegally" from an important catchment area which provides water to half the Tshwane area.
It is feared that the plant, situated on a smallholding in Elm Street in Petit, near Benoni, is posing a serious health risk and could already have contaminated groundwater in the area.
The area is also the catchment for the Rietvlei Dam, from which nearly 50 percent of Tshwane gets its water.
Hexavalent chromium has raised a red flag to environmentalists in the area, who see it as a health hazard.
Anne Mearns, who received a United Nations Environmental Global Progress Award for environmental conservation in 1998, lives about 500m from the site.
The company's name is still unknown. There are no signboards displaying the company's name and it does not appear on any of the buildings at the plant.
Big white bags with chromium written in big black letters on the site alerted environmentalists to what was being processed at the plant.
The owner of the plant lives a few kilometres from the site, but the premises are locked and there is nobody at home.
Mearns said she had desperately been trying to alert the authorities to the problem, but had received no response to date.
Nicole Barlow, chairperson of the Environment and Conservation Association, said residents on nearby smallholdings had alerted her to the problem a few days ago.
She said hexavalent chromium can cause a wide range of serious health problems, such as birth defects, infertility, itching, nosebleeds, ulcers and holes in the nasal septum.
Ingestion of very high doses can cause kidney and liver damage, irritation of the gastrointestinal tract, stomach ulcers, convulsions and even death.
Mearns confirmed that she had written eight letters to the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment (GDACE) since August last year and had yet to receive a response.
Barlow expressed outrage that the plant, tucked away among the smallholdings, had been allowed to operate without the necessary safety measures being put in place.
These included proper signage to warn people of the dangers and implementing adequate ground protection such as in the case of a landfill site, to prevent seepage into groundwater and the environment.
After residents alerted Mearns, she conducted an investigation and found that the site had been operational before August last year.
She pointed out that such plants were prohibited from operating in industrial areas and that special permits from the GDACE had to be granted and were subject to stringent conditions.
Mearns explained that the plant was situated in an important catchment area and that about 98 percent of the residents in the vicinity were dependent on groundwater, which she suspected was already contaminated.
She said that according to the latest tests conducted by Pretoria University, most of the contaminated water in Rietvlei Dam came from the Benoni area.
Underground rivers flow from the west of Daveyton into Rietvlei Dam and the pollutant from the suspected chromium-processing plant would be a serious threat to the environment, Mearns added.
She fired off a letter last week to MEC Khabisi Mosunkutu to determine whether his office had granted a record of decision to the owner of the plant and if so, to inform him or her that it was a contravention of the National Environmental Management Act and to demand that operations be stopped immediately.
Sizwe Matshikiza, spokesperson for the GDACE, said he was unaware of the existence of such a plant, but promised that he would find out whether there had been an application for the plant to operate and if so, whether it had been granted and what the terms and conditions were.
Justice Maluleke, the assistant director of water quality management at the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, said he had no knowledge of the plant but gave the assurance that he would order an immediate investigation.
Mearns also expressed concern over the safety of bullfrogs, the size of dinner plates, which breed at Bullfrog Pan in Benoni.
Bullfrogs are a red data species and their survival is being threatened by the loss of habitat.
- This article was originally published on page 5 of The Star on December 31, 2007
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