Geologist highlights dangers of swimming in eNseleni quarry

ENSELENI has made headlines recently after it was discovered that residents have been illegally using a water-filled quarry as a swimming pool to ward off the scorching summer heat.

Despite warnings from local leadership, the community continues to flock to the quarry as temperatures soar.

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Mining operations at the quarry have ceased in recent years and the open-cast pit has filled with water.

However, a geologist from the University of the the Witwatersrand, Jabulani Sello says there are many risks associated with swimming in a quarry.

These include:
• Quarries have water that is normally colder than river or ocean water because the source is deep underground springs and groundwater that maintain colder temperatures without being exposed to the open atmosphere. The danger with such extremely cold water is hypothermia where the body can go into shock owing to sudden temperature differences. As a result, muscles may become stiff owing to reduced blood circulation, making it harder to swim. The swimmer then becomes exhausted, and drowning is a risk.

• The waters also normally leach chemicals from surrounding rocks and from chemicals used for mining activities. The water becomes gradually acidic through acid mine drainage (AMD) processes. Such waters can cause severe damage and irritation to the skin if exposed for prolonged periods of time. Those waters can also cause water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid if ingested over prolonged periods.

• Sheer faces, falling, and possible landslides can cause a collapse, burying or killing swimmers. Once mining operations have been abandoned, the quarry cliffs are at risk of collapse since the occupational, health and safety (SHE) procedures are no longer in place to guarantee the safety of anyone present.

• The water depth cannot be ascertained because the pits are usually very deep with a network of connected underground tunnels (mining shafts) that have since flooded. The water becomes dangerous where it is extremely deep.

Solutions:
• The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), through its custodian the Council for Geosciences (CGS), should enforce the law by forcing the mining company that was awarded the mining licence to immediately begin the process of mine closure, as well as the environmental rehabilitation of that quarry since mining operations have ceased.

• The area where the quarry is situated should be fenced, barricaded and guarded to make sure there are no local communities that can access the area until it is safe to do so.

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