GEORGE NEWS - A group of Heather Park residents remain concerned about air pollution in their neighbourhood, even though the results of official air quality tests recently conducted have shown that the pollutants are within legal limits.
Dr Johann Schoeman, district manager for air quality control at the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM), met with a group of the complainants earlier this month to discuss the test results.
During the engagement, the residents remained adamant that certain health issues such as allergies and breathing problems, as well as odours of sulphur or bitumen, remain unresolved.
Anthony Breakey expressed the hope that more can be done to relieve the situation. He said they would keep pursuing the matter.
Air quality tests are also under way at the Much Asphalt plant in Witfontein. Schoeman said although pollution levels are within legal limits, there were a few spikes in emissions that could be correlated to plant startup, but this was permissible during normal operating hours.
“An increase in complaints has been experienced during such spikes, especially when the wind blows in the neighbourhood’s direction.
"To limit this, startups outside of operating hours is permitted only with special notification from the plant when it experiences an asphalt demand that cannot be supplied during normal operations. Any early plant startup must be conducted with paraffin to reduce offensive odours.”
Much Asphalt has taken several mitigative measures to reduce odours, and Schoeman said residents should keep in mind that the pollutants tested also include other sources, such as traffic.
Although the complaint has been closed, monitoring of the asphalt plant will continue, as well as the adherence to and enforcement of the conditions of its atmospheric emissions licence.
Heather Park resident Anthony Breakey
The use of LPG
Responding to the residents’ hopes that Much Asphalt was considering the use of LPG (natural gas) for startups, Melissa-Ann Jansen van Vuuren, the safety, health, environment and quality manager, said they have already switched to a lighter fuel and paraffin in the early morning hours to accommodate residents.
“To switch to LPG will take a capital investment and additional storage tanks. The plant cannot be switched to LPG partially, it requires a technical conversion.”
She said, however, that the company is investigating the feasibility of using gas at certain plants as part of its sustainability strategy.
Responding to complaints about soot in homes and on cars, she said the only source of soot from an asphalt plant is when bitumen or reclaimed asphalt is heated with burners (the direct exposure of bitumen to a flame source). At the George plant, bitumen is heated by means of electricity. Because of this, soot cannot be formed due to incomplete combustion.
“The George plant also does not heat the reclaimed asphalt, so bitumen is never exposed to a flame. Only the aggregate is heated by the flame, and then the reclaimed asphalt is combined with the heated aggregate after it passed the flame.”
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