During a recent visit to the Highveld Priority Area, the Sunday Times spoke to several community members and health workers who described severe health issues.
A general practitioner based in Middelburg, who does work at an occupational health clinic that specialises in fitness for work certifications, said the cases he deals with are “shocking”.
The doctor, who did not want to be named as he feared a backlash, sees industry and mineworkers, carries out lung function tests and does chest X-rays, as well as risk assessments for big industry. He also looks at ways of mitigating harm.
“Most people worry just about respiratory considerations, but it is much more than that. It’s not just coal miners and silicosis and lung damage caused by exposure in a work environment — it is something that extends to the entire population,” he said.
He said that while lung problems and “cardiovascular complications at a macro level” are commonly diagnosed, it is difficult to pinpoint pollution as the actual, sole cause.
His sentiments were echoed by healthcare worker Nandi Khanye, who lives in Phola — a pollution hotspot where the air hangs grey until it is cleaned by rain.
“There are many problems in our community, like TB. And the children don’t develop well. The newborns, some pass away because they don’t develop well. The reason is the mines around us,” she said.
Power plants in the area are well secured. But while access to the facilities is strictly controlled, the towers reaching into the sky constantly belch out emissions and ash that spread much further than the perimeter fences and security gates.
Constant lines of heavy coal trucks drive up and down, loaded with coal to fuel the various power stations. Not only do their emissions add to air pollution, they add to the issue of dust.
“The main complaints relate to dust from coal trucks transporting coal in the area; dust from untarred roads; and dust from ash dumps or coal discard dumps,” says groundWorks research.
Promise Mabilo, who lives in Emalahleni, joined Vukani as one of the activists appealing for help.
“People are dying. And people are dying very slowly. It is very sad to watch without getting any help. We are suffering a lot,” said Mabilo.
“When we started raising air pollution as an issue, people started to see that this is very real, this is true. Because when we are out of Emalahleni we don’t have to spend more money on medication for our children like when we are in this area.”
A healthcare worker in Tutukani, a settlement about 3.5km from the potholed centre of Standerton and nestled in the shadow of the Tutuka power station, also did not want to be named and feared speaking out against Eskom. Nor did any of her patients wish to be identified or interviewed.
She said she has been a healthcare visitor for 11 years and is one of 13 in the area. She has 32 patients who she sees regularly, and more than a third of them — mostly in their 40s — have chest problems.
“We see many, many people with chest problems and coughing, coughing. I don’t know what the doctors are telling them because I am not with them when they go for their medication,” she said.
Another Emalahleni resident, Musawenkosi Dhlamini, said she was diagnosed with asthma in 2010: “I grew up as a child who couldn’t participate in sports. My chest would close up. I wouldn’t be able to run or do anything. As part of this case I get to share my story and how this thing of pollution affects you.”
Fellow Vukani activist Cebile Mkhwanazi said: “I have two children. The firstborn was admitted to hospital at four months old and diagnosed with asthma. The doctor confirmed that it is the area where we stay that is affecting the child.
“We are victims, but we are not the only ones. There are others who are sick but have no idea what the cause is. What I would like to ask of the government ... is to empathise with us.”
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