By Anish Abraham
IN ITS quest to provide a healthier environment for all its residents, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality has installed two air-quality monitoring stations. These stations are part of its plan to monitor and reduce harmful emissions.
Thandi Radebe, the executive manager for quality control and law enforcement, says the stations have been installed in Springs and Leondale.
Two more stations, at the Etwatwa Library and Erin Clinic in Tembisa, will be installed before the end of the month. The Metro plans to add two stations each year, over the next three years.
Although the Metro is proud of its position as the industrial heartland of South Africa, a concentration of industries also has its disadvantages, namely severe air pollution.
Radebe says that to deal with such problems, "Ekurhuleni has adopted an air quality management plan, which guides it in managing air pollution sources within its boundaries".
The plan, which was approved by the council in May, calls for air quality management systems to be put in place and for emission reduction measures to be implemented.
Community awareness programmes are being conducted by the Metro in townships, while industry representatives have attended workshops and seminars to learn more about the plan.
"The plan has a lifespan of five years and will have to be reviewed after that," Radebe says. " However, due to changing legislation in the field of air quality, there will be a need to review the plan at least by 2007."
To ensure the matter is given the importance it deserves, she says air quality management has been made a priority in the Metro's Integrated Development Plan (IDP).
According to the national department of environmental affairs and tourism, the main contributors to air pollution in the area are the international airport (Africa's busiest), four major freeways running through the metro, mine dumps that have not been rehabilitated, and the high percentage of disadvantaged communities who rely on burning fossil fuels for energy. In addition, Ekurhuleni is home to 40 percent of Gauteng's industries.
Under the newly enforced National Environmental Management Air Quality Act (Act 39 of 2004), there have been changes in the management of air quality. It replaces the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act (Act 45 of 1965), which was outdated and had inadequate compliance and enforcement mechanisms.
The act brings air pollution control in line with the Constitutional allocation of functions between the three spheres of government. This means that some of the functions previously undertaken by the national department of environmental affairs and tourism are now the responsibility of municipalities.
Local authorities are also now expected to monitor ambient air quality, identify priority pollutants, establish local emission standards, appoint air quality officers, develop air quality management plans and perform emission licensing authority functions.
The Metro has put forward seven proposals to reduce harmful emissions.
To combat household fuel burning, it will promote the Basa Njengo Magogo method in residential areas where coal is burnt, like Tembisa and Etwatwa.
"The method was developed by the national department of minerals and energy to promote a safe and less polluting way of making an open fire, using whatever means at your disposal," Radebe says.
Regulations require mines to implement comprehensive dust management schemes, undertake dustfall monitoring and quantify and report their emissions to the municipality.
Roadside testing of diesel-powered trucks has been initiated, as part of the metro's vehicle emission testing programme. One proposal calls for an inter-departmental task force, consisting of members from the environment and transportation planning departments.
That group will incorporate air quality considerations into the Integrated Transport Plan being developed for Ekurhuleni.
Airports will have to quantify and report atmospheric emissions, while the international airport will have to conduct an air quality impact study and undertake air quality monitoring.
Landfills will have to comply with the minimum requirements for landfill operations as set by the department of water affairs and forestry, while incinerator operators will have to ensure they have permits and that they comply with permit conditions.
All industries undertaking scheduled processes (as defined by Schedule 2 of the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act) will have to provide proof of registration under the act and demonstrate compliance with permit conditions.
Industries are being encouraged to assess the effects they have, and to formulate plans to reduce emissions if it proves necessary. Such planning will be advantageous for them when they apply for their atmospheric emission licences. These are to be issued by the metro under the new air quality act.
Implementing such measures will enable the metro to gauge air quality, increase compliance by and regulation of industries, make results available to the public and, in the long term, lead to reduced health costs for its residents.
The Metro will install ambient air quality monitoring stations in Olifantsfontein, Alberton, Tsakane/Kwa-Thema, Germiston and Wattville. There will also be one transferable station. The department is looking at getting external funding from big business and international donors to install more monitoring stations.
Ekurhuleni is also advising the community to comply with regulatory requirements and to report illegitimate operations that lead to poor air quality.
"The Metro will start by developing and publishing the environmental policy, and from that policy by-laws will be formulated to outline the penalties for non-compliance with regulation," Radebe concludes.
Source: www.ekurhuleni.com
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