|
|
South Africa: ActionAid Calls for Urgent Action on Water Contamination Around Anglo Platinum Mines
 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
ActionAid (London)
PRESS RELEASE
26 March 2008
Posted to the web 26 March 2008
Johannesburg
ActionAid is calling for an urgent inquiry into water contamination around Anglo Platinum’s mines in Limpopo following the revelation that levels of nitrates are more than nine times the level of safe drinking water.
“Medical examinations and blood tests are urgently needed for schoolchildren in Ga-Molekane as they are being exposed to such a high risk of nitrates in drinking water,” said Zanele Twala, ActionAid’s South Africa country director. “Children should be supplied with alternative safe water immediately.”
Carin Bosman, an independent environmental management advisor and chemist, who undertook the water tests for ActionAid, said:“The norm used in the South African national standard and target water quality guideline for domestic use is 6 mg Nitrate-N per litre. Values between 6 and 20 could lead to methaemaglobinanemia in infants, while values above 20 will cause methaemaglobinanemia in children, and mucus membrane irritations in adults.
The result at GaMolekane Primary School was 57.6mg/l, at GaMolekane Langalibalele Secondary School and GaMolekane Community Tap around 20mg/l, at GaPila water seep 76mg/l, while at Sterkwater the result was 7.4mg/l.
“In addition to our concerns over water, people are also being unfairly relocated as we speak. This needs to stop now so that a proper process of consultation and negotiation is reached and mining affected communities are fairly compensated,” said Twala.
“Our research is accurate. Community members livelihoods have been negatively impacted by mining, as evidenced by statements made by community members at our press conference at the South African Human Rights Commission yesterday.”
|
Over the course of a year, while conducting research for the report, ‘Precious Metal: the impact of Anglo Platinum on poor communities in Limpopo, South Africa,’ ActionAid has made several attempts to have a formal meeting with Anglo Platinum but so far, responses have only been given in writing. All of the company’s responses have been included in ActionAid’s report.
In the light of the findings of the independent water quality assessment, Anglo Platinum should make its environmental management and social and labour plans publicly available, as well as results of monitoring it has conducted around its mines, and subject its community development projects to independent audits. It should also, acting in accordance with its policy of being a responsible corporate citizen, provide water to its affected neighbors while the Human Rights Commission investigates the matter.
“We would like to sit down with Anglo Platinum and the communities concerned to deal with the issues at hand, and to move forward in a manner that respects the rights of the communities and is fair to the mining company,” added Twala.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 ActionAid. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
