Durban’s cancer alley pays price for pollution

EDITOR – In response to the letter entitled ‘Protestors owe local refinery an apology‘ by Sean Palframan.

The cancer walk organisers were granted permission for the route despite Engen’s objection at the section four meeting hosted by Metro Police and SAPS with the community representatives at Wentworth police station.

The aim of the walk was to highlight the high levels of health concerns and create awareness of the increase in cancer in the South Durban suburbs. South Durban is well known for its high pollution due to the density of major chemical industries close to residential homes. The health study completed in 2007 showed an acceleration of people affected by asthma and this also indicated that the lifetime risk of cancer is estimated at 25 per 100,000 in the community of Wentworth. This while the guideline is 1 per 100,000. We are known to live on the ‘cancer alley’ of Durban. The study conducted monitoring of chemicals on the fenceline of the Engen, Sapref and Mondi.

We are fully aware of Wentworth’s high abuse of substances including nicotine addiction, even at schools, however according to Cansa’s statistics, 90% of cancers are affected by the environment, that is emission of toxins from nearby industries. The cancer rate here is estimated to be three times higher than the world average. The health study also indicated that exposures to certain carcinogens, such as benzene and chromium, are higher in south Durban.

This will be an annual walk as the organisers received a positive response from residents of South Durban. Government’s statements at the recent air ‘legotla’ showed there has been an increase in emissions from surrounding industries monitored at the Wentworth station. No-one can dispute this as the health studies have shown in 2002 and 2007 that more than half the population have respiratory ailments at Settlers Primary School and the community at large.

DESMOND D’SA

SDCEA co-ordinator