Land sea breeze carries Shongweni odour downhill

SUSPICIONS of EnviroServ waste management company dumping toxic waste in the Pinetown and Westville areas has sparked concerns for both residents and employees in the area.

However, the civic group, Upper Highway Air NPC advised that the smell from the Shongweni Landfill is no doubt being carried through the air by a land sea breeze.

“The North West winds in the mornings as well as the lower pressures in the cooler weather are now bringing the smell further down the hill,” said Lauren Johnson, founding member of the UHA NPC.

In a press statement, the UHA NPC said the Durban High Court granted an order in favour of UHA NPC interdicting EnviroServ from receiving, treating and disposing of further waste into the Shongweni Landfill Site on 26 April.

ALSO READ: Protests outside Durban High Court – UHA vs EnviroServ for urgent interim interdict order

That order included a prohibition against EnviroServ disposing of leachate, generated by the waste already in the Shongweni landfill site waste body, back into the waste body.

“EnviroServ was to obtain permission again from eThekwini to dispose of the leachate via the sea outfall at the Southern Wastewater Treatment Works (SWWTW), as it was a practice of EnviroServ to dig trenches into the waste body, deposit the leachate into the trench, and blend it with ash, lime or cement fines to solidify the leachate and dispose of it back into the waste body.”

“This practice was (among other problems identified with the Shongweni landfill site in the technical report) highlighted as being responsible for the concentration of sulphides in the waste body and elevated landfill temperatures. It is for this reason the DEA also included this instruction to stop disposing of leachate back into the waste body in the suspension decision. The UHA NPC sought relief in the High Court enforcing the terms of that suspension decision pending the outcome of the appeal by EnviroServ against the suspension decision.”

ALSO WATCH: NPA versus EnviroServ, court case postponed

“eThekwini confirmed it hadn’t received an application from EnviroServ for the discharge of leachate via the SWWTW,” said UHA NPC in their statement.

“We have not heard about the discharge of contaminated storm water via the SWWTW but have asked the municipality to ensure the contaminated storm water meets the toxicity limits for discharge, failing which, we will address this potential for pollution also.”

The UHA said an active gas extraction and recovery or destruction system appears to be the only practical way to reduce the impacts from the fugitive gas emissions. EnviroServ obtained a license to install such system but failed to implement it and now is obliged to do so on pain of permanently losing its license.

The drop in barometric pressure which comes with bad weather is also a “significant driver” of the fugitive gasses being emitted.

UHA described the process like a giant vacuum cleaner over the Shongweni landfill site. The low pressure drawing the gasses out of the landfill’s valley 2 and blowing them over the communities.

ALSO WATCH: Upper Highway Air NPC wins interdict order against EnviroServ

Meanwhile in the UHA NPC’s written submissions to the DEA on 25 May, in response to EnviroServ’s appeal against the decision to suspend its license, the UHA NPC have highlighted various concerns concerning the credibility and reliability of EnviroServ’s toxicology report and associated air dispersion modelling report.

Among the complaints are that experts excluded the highest hydrogen sulfide (H2S) readings from the toxicology study and dispersion modelling; omitted H2S readings in presentations to the DEA to demonstrate a reduction in H2S actually being emitted from the site; and fingered a mystery SO2 polluter when the data on which it was based appeared to be measuring temperature readings from the device as opposed to actual SO2 levels.

EnviroServ responds

Regarding the allegations of the toxicology report, Dean Thompson, EnviroServ Group CEO, said there was no toxicology report done in March, only an interim report which contained the methodology. However a technical review of the site management was submitted in March.

“EnviroServ remains committed to our remediation plan which is progressing well despite some external challenges.”

“We are working according to odour and gas management plan submitted to the Department. The engineering design for the progressive capping design of the front face of the landfill has been approved and construction has started. We are awaiting the design approval from the gas extraction and treatment system and as soon as this approval has been received, this installation will commence. The estimated completion date is still August 2017.”

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