Residents ‘breathing toxic chemicals’ outside Averda waste landfill

The course of the lives of residents in Vlakfontein have turned for the worst with the international waste landfill, Averda, at their doorsteps.

Some have even developed respiratory conditions because of the constant inhalation of the toxic chemicals.

Averda is operating on a former brick-making quarry and claims on its website that “the clay acts as a natural barrier that contains hazardous materials within the site and prevents them from spreading into the environment.”

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Residents say landfill affects their health

However, residents claim this is not the case.

Edward Venter, 66, has lived on a farm 2km from Averda. For 40 years he lived happily working as a farmer.

In March last year, he and his wife were awoken by a terrible smell, which was worse than the usual days.

His wife Charmaine said: “He couldn’t breathe, we went to the doctor and we were told he had to be admitted.

“We were told he had to get a lung biopsy. I had no idea that my husband was going to be slashed across one side past three ribs, it was a 10cm cut.

“He was in ICU for three days and in hospital for 10 days. The doctor said there was an indication of a chemical burn in his lung and since then he has been unable to work like before.”

In his cardio thoracic surgeon’s report, his doctor said: “He had a severe headache and said he was unable to swallow anything except fluids and also had pain in his throat with associated shortness of breath.”

He was admitted “with a clinical pneumonia and had a chest X-ray performed which clearly showed evidence of severe chronic bronchitis with full hilum and there was nothing untoward shown in the neck area on the chest X-ray. He was also dehydrated at that time”.

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Averda says it monitors emissions from waste landfill

The company’s website also reads: “Averda closely monitors the site and the potential odours that can be emitted from Vlakfontein.

“Air-quality monitors and high-tech gas probes are situated around the site. Dust monitoring technology is also used.”

Charmaine showed The Citizen messages to one of Averda’s managers, which were all ignored.

“Smell is getting worse. The whole night it smelt terrible. You should come live here. Smell is awful tonight.”

The messages showed they were read through a blue tick on WhatsApp.

The company website, however, says: “In the event of a complaint, we have real-time data available to ascertain the nature of the complaint so that operational adjustments can be immediately undertaken.”

Marinda Kriel, 59, also said she was ignored when she raised concerns about how they were affected.

“We are affected so much by Averda’s dust and chemical smell that we have constant sinus infections, headaches and nausea.

“I wake up at night from the fumes; sometimes my nose and eyes are burning,” she said.

“We cannot drink water from the boreholes because it tastes like something from there went in,” Kriel said.

The two residents said previously the air quality would be tested with machines, but that had been stopped.

“They bring someone to sniff the air now to decide whether there is a bad smell or not,” said Kriel.

Messages from their community group chat – where Averda employees who are involved in the testing are included – confirmed this claim.

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Waste landfill security chase photographer away

A board at the entrance to the site mandates that people entering wear PPE (protective personal clothing), including protective glasses, safety helmets, ear muffs, gloves and boots and prohibits the taking of photographs.

Security personnel chased this paper’s team away when our photographer wanted to take pictures, despite the fact that we were well outside its boundaries.

The site has not been declared a national key point, so taking photographs is permitted.

We saw a number of trucks entering and leaving, including a tanker carrying what looked like a black compound resembling tar.

Averda’s Neil Ristow told The Citizen: “You will receive correspondence next week from the most appropriate person. I will leave further correspondence.”

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