The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air has released a report which has revealed that pollution from SASOL’s Secunda plant can be linked to about a thousand deaths annually.
According to the report, there are also 260 new childhood asthma cases.
Daniel Nesan is the centre’s air quality analyst. He says, “People in Johannesburg will be familiar with the sulphurous smell that comes and goes, but for the people who live around Secunda, this is part of a more persistent concern about air pollution that they face. We wanted to understand how exactly this one facility, SASOL Secunda, contributes to that public health burden, and our analysis showed that about 1000- premature deaths a year, and a total health-related cost of almost R19 billion. What we’re estimating is the additional risk as a result of exposure to this pollution. So, this is pollution that’s contributing to heart conditions and lung conditions; it’s not individual deaths, but it’s showing the wider burden of this pollution on the population.
