Environmental Affairs Minister, Barbara Creecy says further criminal charges may be instituted against the Mumbai-based chemicals giant UPL.
The company’s warehouse at Cornubia near uMhlanga in KwaZulu-Natal was razed to the ground during the July unrest.
According to authorities the warehouse, which stored toxic pesticides and chemical products was operating without permits and flouted all environmental regulations.
Environmental Affairs Minister, Barbara Creecy says the company started its operation without requisite permits.
“The findings indicate that the UPL was not in possession of the requisite environmental authorisation prior to establishing its operations. The authorisation should have been obtained from the KZN Department of Economic Development, Tourism, and Environmental Affairs. In addition, UPL had not obtained a critical assessment from eThekwini metro in terms of the occupation and safety act and relevant municipal bylaws. Had UPL undertaken this process, it would in all probability have been defined as a major hazard institution considering the significant volumes and nature of chemicals stored.”
Joint preliminary UPL compliance report released: Barbara Creecy
