Despite health or environmental impacts, Eskom’s Kusile Power Station has been granted an exemption from complying fully with national air quality regulations and allowed to emit more sulphur dioxide (SO2) into the atmosphere, due to repairs on one of its chimneys.
Announcing the decision last Wednesday, Barbara Creecy, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment, acknowledged the impacts of load shedding, but said she was also “equally aware of the health and associated impacts of exposure to sulphur dioxide emissions, particularly on communities close to coal-fired power stations”.
She said it was “an extraordinarily difficult decision”.
The exemption was granted on the grounds that one of Kusile’s stacks was damaged and repairs will continue until December 2024.
Eskom is constructing a temporary stack, which should be completed by November, allowing for the generation capacity of 2 100MW – reducing load shedding by two levels, Creecy said.
Temporary measures for the stack will result in Kusile being unable to use its Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) mechanism which reduces SO2 emissions, for more than a year, increasing SO2 emissions beyond Kusile’s limits stated in its Atmospheric Emission Licence.
Last year, Eskom labelled Kusile its environmentally friendly power plant as it was the only one with the FGD mechanism, enabling it to emit 500mg per cubic metre, and ensuring it complied with the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act of 2004, the Daily Maverick reported.
A report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea) found that Eskom was the world’s most polluting power company, surpassing Chinese and US power utilities.
Another more recent report showed its lack of compliance with atmospheric limitations threatened the health of surrounding communities, causing premature deaths, particularly among children. It added that this lack of compliance would cost the SA economy R42bn by 2030.
Life After Coal campaigners questioned whether the additional release of sulphur dioxide would be a breach of the constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to health and well-being – a right enforced by the “Deadly Air” court judgment.
The exemption was granted to Eskom under a number of conditions, including that it “…take measures to mitigate harm to workers and surrounding communities, including independent health screenings and referrals to public health facilities where needed”.
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