Whistle-blowers demand clean air from Sasol
Few people attended the meeting at the Sasol Recreation Club.
Difficult questions asked at Sasol’s air quality meeting on June 14 at the Sasol Recreation Club gave its employees a challenging time.
Grant McGillian is a former Sasol employee who has challenged Sasol for seven years about their air quality. At the meeting, he said Sasol was not complying with the air quality requirements set by the government.
Hannes Buys of Sasol’s environmental department said Sasol had operated and complied with their license since 2014.
McGillian said Sasol did not meet the requirements and asked for repeated postponements. He said they should sort out themselves and stop poisoning the community.
Buys said the meeting focused on Sasol’s atmospheric emission license.
Ian Erasmus, another whistle-blower and former Sasol employee currently involved in a criminal case against Sasol, was also at the meeting and raised several concerns.
Erasmus showed photos of what appear to be gas clouds over Secunda.
“It affects my children, and Sasol is not compliant,” said Erasmus.
“Sasol sued the government to give them a postponement on the license requirements.
“You did not say that Sasol was the primary air polluter in this area, yet Sasol is responsible for 90% of the air pollution here.”
Buys said he was interested in the evidence that Sasol contributed to 90% of the air pollution in the area.
He also said Sasol did apply for two postponements and that they were at 98% of the emissions being compliant.
Sasol works on their plants’ efficiency, which lets them operate below the minimum emission levels required by the government.
McGillian asked why Sasol had no indication of people in the area dying from lung diseases in the past five years. Buys said it was not in his field and that he was there to discuss air quality.
Erasmus requested that Sasol issue an official statement that it was not illegal for an employee frowned upon to report environmental issues to the number or e-mail address Sasol provided.
“When I did that in 2019, my senior manager reprimanded me, and I received a suspension letter,” said Erasmus.
“I am here today for all the children of Secunda to fight for them so they can breathe clean air.”
McGillian raised Sasol’s project in Lake Charles in the USA and said it was just for personal gain and profit.
Erasmus elaborated on the Lake Charles plant and said Sasol had bullied American couple Chris and Carla Meyer, who owned the land where Sasol wanted to build the plant and tried to force them to sell their property to Sasol.
This issue resulted in a court case after Sasol continued building around the couple’s property and then allegedly refused them access to it.
“Sasol cut off their telephone lines and water as well,” said Erasmus.
“Sasol seems to use bullying tactics to get what it wants, no matter the impact on people.”
The meeting ended after discussions on all of Buys’ slide show points.
