The Bucket Brigade landed in Cape Town on Tuesday the 23rd of May. The
next day we briefed parliamentarians from the Environment and Tourism,
Minerals and Energy, Trade and Industry and Water Affairs Standing Committees
on air pollution, oil refineries and incineration. Over twenty parliamentarians
came to hear the briefing hosted and chaired by MP Gwen Mahlangu. The meeting
was a great success since it focussed on alternatives and solutions to
filling the information gap prevailing in South Africa. The day was exciting
and we are sending out our press release with accompanying photos.
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Press Release Thursday, 25 May 2000
Embargo: Immediate
Parliamentarians Take Impromptu Toxic Tour of Polluting Industry
Following a morning presentation by community, national and international activists on oil refinery pollution in Cape Town and South Africa, parliamentarians were prompted to see first hand what it must be like to live close to an oil refinery.
GroundWork, a national environmental and human rights organization,
arranged a briefing for members of parliament on air pollution in Cape
Town and South Durban as a result of oil refineries. The briefing
was part of a 
national
tour of the Bucket Brigade, a four person US/South African team traveling
through South Africa to work with communities on air sampling and the impacts
of oil refineries on people’s health and welfare. Andy Birkinshaw
of the Table View Residents’ Association poignantly told the story of Table
View residents who have to live next to the Caltex oil refinery.
“Our children’s health is at risk because of the insensitive manner in
which industry is allowed to operate here,” Birkinshaw passionately added.
The presentation focused on the ambient pollution levels and the health
risks associated with emissions from oil 
refineries.
Member of Parliament, Gwen Mahlangu chaired the meeting and told her colleagues
that it is time for action on these urgent environmental and public health
issues. “As the political leadership we have to support the commitments
made by Minister Valli Moosa to protect our society from unscrupulous perpetrators.
We have to make people’s constitutional right to live in a clean and safe
environment a reality,” she declared.
Bobby Peek of groundWork used his experiences from living next to the Engen and BP/Shell oil refineries in South Durban to highlight the national significance of the delegations endeavours. He applauded the innovative and cost-effective air sampling tool made from a simple five-gallon bucket. Denny Larson from the California-based Communities for a Better Environment has been building these buckets and training communities all over the United States to test the air they breathe and to hold polluting industries accountable for their air pollution. “These buckets are empowering tools because of their accessibility and their ease of use. Now communities can build these buckets, sample the air and find out what they are breathing,"” explained Larson.
Shipra
Bansal, technical advisor to the Bucket Brigade, highlighted the gaping
holes in available emissions data in South Africa. “Not only is the data
not readily available but the problem is compounded by emission guidelines
that are often 10 times weaker compared to other countries,” she pointed
out.
There is a strong need for the globalization of the environmental justice
struggle facing local communities, whether in Africa or in America.
Heeten Kalan of the US-based South African Exchange Program on Environmental
Justice 
provided
parliamentarians with policy options to strengthen existing legislation
to fill some of the data gaps. He further warned that South Africa
does not have the option of making the same mistake other industrialized
countries have made and encouraged policy-makers to adopt creative measures
to improve the health and environment of all South Africans. “In
our new democracy we have a unique opportunity to leap-frog technologies
and adopt stringent standards that we can independently monitor and enforce,”
he said.
Prompted by this informative and moving presentation, MP Gwen Mahlangu
immediately arranged for a “toxic tour” of the Caltex refinery.
Approaching the Caltex refinery in the two vans arranged to get to the site. |
Parliamentarians along with local residents and members of the Bucket Brigade outside the Caltex refinery. |
Stay tuned for further updates from Cape Town.
If you want to contact us on the road, please email us at: hkalan@igc.org