Durban — A waste-management company in New Germany, Pinetown, has pointed to a broken municipal sewer line pipe, within the vicinity of the company, for a chemical leak into a river that caused breathing discomfort to residents.
Last Thursday, an alleged spillage occurred near Dilex Purification, a waste management service. The spill affected the Aller stream, which flows into the Umgeni River.
The eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement (ERPM) and Westville Ratepayers Association (WRA) chairperson Asad Gaffar called for a formal apology from Dilex Purification.
“The intrusive and pungent spillage, which was not disclosed by the company, led to families abandoning their homes in fear of harm. Residents experienced headaches and nausea after reporting a strong, tasteable stench,” Gaffar said.
Gaffar said: “The municipality has since located the source of the spillage, neutralised the chemicals causing the pollution and issued fines to Dilex Purification.
“However, the company’s failure to apologise and acknowledge the harm caused is a slap in the face to our community. The impact on our environment has yet to be determined. We await a report disclosing the toxins released.”
Gaffar also asked the company to be transparent and accountable for its actions.
“We wish to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the municipal teams and clean-up crews who attended the site and demonstrated commitment and care to our communities,” Gaffar said.
Dilex Purification CEO Itu Rangaka stated that the spillage was not caused by them, but in fact was caused by a municipal sewer line.
Rangaka said that the company’s aim was to ensure that industries in the greater metro deal with their chemical effusions without endangering the environment and “immiserating” people.
Rangaka said the company has been using the municipal system without incident for the past 10 years.
“We did not do anything we had not been doing before the incident and were shocked and dismayed by it.”
Rangaka said that upon being alerted to the issue, they informed local authorities and on further investigation were informed then about the sewer line break.
“We will engage air quality practitioners to monitor the effectiveness of our joint efforts by testing air quality in our immediate area and provide advice.
“We are in contact and have reached out to community leaders and residents to gather feedback on the effectiveness of our interventions and to allay their concerns. Dilex Purification will ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future. To this end, we undertake to cease and desist from sending any effluent down that fractured line until it has been repaired,” Rangaka said.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the eThekwini Pollution and Environment branch was aware of Thursday’s incident after the company (Dilex) contacted one of the City’s senior water quality officers, after the fact, that they discharged untreated effluent into the municipal sewer line.
Sisilana said the Health Department and emergency services went on site with pollution and environment staff.
Sisilana said that the company was issued with a final notice to cease all operations and a summons was also issued to it.
“Samples of the river have been taken and we await laboratory results. In the interim, Dilex have contracted a spill response company to help with the clean-up operations.
“The cleaning process was undertaken by a competent company on Saturday (August 17) and fortunately there was no indication of harm to marine life in the river,” Sisilana said.
The City’s sanitation unit was also dispatched to investigate and conduct a physical inspection of the city’s sewer infrastructure in the vicinity, and the findings revealed that there was a damaged sewer pipe, said Sisilana.
“The investigations on the extent of damage to the municipal sewer infrastructure was still in progress and remedial work will commence once all investigations are complete, which will include the financial implications of carrying out the remedial work. The relevant units will continue to monitor the situation to ensure the health and safety of residents as well as marine life,” Sisilana said.
WhatsApp your views on this story to 071 485 7995.
Daily News