Wasting the Nation.indd - Groundwork

Chapter 4: The toxic cradle of productionEngen has increased its consumption of catalyst but claims zero H:H waste. This isachieved by ‘de-listing’ H:H to H:h waste which is then dumped at BulBul Drivelandfill. It is not clear how the metals in catalyst waste can be treated to warrant the delisting.Replying to queries from groundWork, Engen says that catalyst waste batchesare variable and it may not always be possible to de-list. In this case, it will be disposedto an H:H site. Engen is also exploring the possibility of recycling catalyst wasteswhich have “a lot of monetary value due to their constituents”. It justifies this also interms of the requirement for waste reduction. 75Water pollution from these processes is intense. All plants produce effluent and say thequality of their effluent is within their permit conditions. These permits are in manycases “exemptions from the general standard” – meaning that they are permitted tomeet lower requirements than in the national regulations. Whether the permits protectwater or industry is thus questionable. Sasol is now cooperating with the DWAF ininvestigating the die off of fish at the Vaal Barrage where its Sasolburg effluents arereleased. Further, most large industries have on site dumps for more or less toxic wastes,including ash dumps and slimes dams. Sasol is now remediating old tar pits even as itdevelops new ones. In 2006, DWAF training materials identified some of the waterpollution problems associated with the Sasolburg chemicals cluster:• Natref: Contaminated groundwater in vicinity of evaporation dams;groundwater contamination in tank farm area.• Omnia Fertilizers: Contaminated groundwater in plant area; spillages andseepages from hydrochloric tanks.• Sasol Chemical Industries: Salt loading in surface water to Vaal Barrage.Discard dump causes groundwater pollution.• Dow Plastics (now Safripol): Overflowing of effluent pond; storm water runoff from site; currently no water use authorisation.• Karbochem: Legacy issues regarding waste dumped on site; historicgroundwater pollution.Spills, fires and explosions are still common at all the petrochemical plants. In 2004,an explosion at Sasol’s Secunda ethylene plant killed 10 people. Since then, Sasol hasembarked on a major safety programme. Nevertheless, the corporation recorded 21‘fires, explosions and releases’ in 2007, up from 15 the year before. Sapref recorded 16fires in 2006 but does not mention spills. Engen records 4 spills in 2006, down from75 E-mail, Sandra Redelinghuys to Bobby Peek, November 05, 2008.Wasting the Nation - groundWork - 107 -