MIDDELBURG – The Steve Tshwete municipality has refuted claims by social activist Jomo Segage that the municipality is failing on its mandate of ensuring that polluting companies comply with Dust Control minimum requirements.
A couple of weeks ago Segage accused the municipality of not holding two companies Columbus Stainless Steel and Samancor to account for noncompliance with minimum dust emission standards in extension 18. Segage also threatened to institute legal actions against the municipality if results of samples taken from dust monitoring device are not released.
In a statement the municipality wrote that it had found that the two companies were within the acceptable dust levels. “Upon receiving the complaint, the matter was then shared with the District Air Quality officers at the Nkangala District Municipality,” said the statement.
“On the 1st of August 2019, the officials from the Department of Environmental and Solid Waste Management at the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, Nkangala District Municipality and the Department of Environmental Affairs visited the complainant to get detailed information regarding the nature of the complaint.
“Thereafter, the officials also visited Columbus Stainless Steel and Samancor and requested three consecutive months’ dust fallout reports in order to analyse and ensure that they are complying with minimum requirements set out in the National Dust Control Regulations, No. R.827, 2013. Upon receiving the reports from the two industries, a review was done for each industry and according to the reports it was found that they are complying with the acceptable dust fall rates,” the statement read.
Furthermore, the Department of Environmental and Solid Waste Management, Steve Tshwete Local Municipality took an initiative and installed a dust bucket system at the complainant’s house for a period of 32 days. This was done so in order to take samples for dust characterisation analysis. The samples were taken to the laboratory for analysis.
“Since the samples were taken to the laboratory for analysis, the Department of Environmental and Solid Waste Management is still awaiting the results. As such, the results will be shared as soon as they are available and a decision will be taken and communicated accordingly,” said the statement.
