MORE than 100 residents from Wentworth and Merebank gathered at the Merebank Community Hall recently for a feedback meeting aimed at addressing ongoing concerns about air pollution in the South Durban Basin.

Also read: Air pollution test confirms high levels of benzene in Merebank

The meeting brought together community members seeking answers about the environmental and health impacts associated with industrial activity in the area, as well as what the closure of refineries could mean for communities living nearby.

Among those attending were University of Michigan professor Stuart Batterman and UKZN academic Dr Rajen Naidoo, who have been brought in to assist the community with technical information.

The pair will receive technical information from Engen Refinery relating to air pollution, which they will analyse and interpret before explaining the findings to residents in a manner that is easier for the community to understand.

Communities vulnerable to pollution

Naidoo said communities in the South Durban area remained vulnerable to environmental impacts and needed to understand the changes taking place following the closure of refineries.

“Communities such as the South of Durban, they are always vulnerable to the new impacts in a changing world. Now that the refineries have closed down, we change our attention to look at the impacts of the closure and what are the impacts from the rehabilitation and new development in these areas,” he said.

He said communities needed to remain at the forefront of understanding these developments and ensuring that decisions were informed by sound evidence.

“We once again have to be at the front end trying to understand these things and bring the best sides to make sure that we can have the right evidence to provide to those people,” Naidoo said.

A resident, Allan Holmes, raised concerns about the impact air pollution has had on families in Wentworth, saying many residents had died after suffering from pollution-related problems.

Holmes said he had lost his mother and other members of the community and called on the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) to find ways to address previous complaints raised against refineries in the area.

He said the community needed meaningful answers about the longstanding concerns surrounding air quality and its impact on residents.

Also read: eThekwini Municipality addresses air pollution issues in Wentworth

SDCEA leader Desmond D’Sa said the technical team would play an important role in helping residents understand complex information provided by Engen.

He said the team would essentially act as an interpreter of the technical information, analysing the data and providing clear explanations to the community.

The meeting comes as residents continue to closely monitor developments in the South Durban Basin following plans for rehabilitation and possible new developments in the area.

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