Sand tailings at Snake Park in Soweto, 10 June 2019. Mine dumps are made up of crushed, sand-like by-product refuse material, known as tailings, produced during the mining process. Mine dumps are made up of a complex mixture of metals and dust particles. Dust exposure can be high for communities living nearby, particularly during windy conditions and when it’s dry and vegetation cover is low.Picture: Nigel Sibanda
A string of sand businesses are stocking up from a mine dump near Florida, Johannesburg, and are selling it to unsuspecting customers for use in the building industry.
After seeing businesses operating on the dump, The Citizen bought a bag of sand from one of the enterprises, Alpha Portland Cement Depot, and sent it to the Bench Marks Foundation for testing.
Lead researcher David van Wyk found the sand was contaminated with traces of uranium, lead, iron and silver, which resembled the characteristics of sand from mine dumps.
Van Wyk said when the sand was mixed with cement and water, it released radon gas, which is the second-biggest cause of lung cancer.
He was concerned for those who had bought the sand for building and the builders who would prepare the cement, as they would be exposed to high levels of the gas.
His result for water mixed with the sand was highly acidic, as the sand had dissolved harmful particles of solids. The water tested five times more acidic than normal drinking water after being mixed with the sand for six hours.
“Being exposed to the fine particles of the sand can cause respiratory sicknesses like asthma, chronic bronchitis, pneumonia and wheezing. Besides respiratory health risks, exposure to the mine dumps can lead to heart diseases and eczema,’’ said Van Wyk.
Of even more concern for the science expert was that the fine dust particles could alter DNA, leading to high risk that infants born to those exposed to the sand would have a disability.
An Alpha Portland Cement depot spokesperson claimed their sand came from the Vaal and not the mine dump.
The company said it was not aware its sand was contaminated, and that management would look into it, but that it was operating legally.
However, during The Citizen’s site visit, employees said they were stocking sand from the business next to them, which has been operating for more than 20 years on a mine dump.
The employees seemed unaware of the sand’s dangers as they were not wearing any protective masks.
Neither were the local residents, who were scooping free sand from the unfenced dump.
Department of energy and mineral resources spokesperson Nathi Shabangu said they did not know mine dump sand was being sold and would investigate.
Van Wyk said many stores were selling contaminated sand, unaware of the harmful impact. He added that the department’s failure to treat mine dumps put people’s lives in danger.
– sinesiphos@citizen.co.za
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