On 1 November 2013, the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Mrs Edna Molewa published the National Dust Control Regulations, in terms of section 53(o), to read with section 32 of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004 (Act No. 39 of 2004) in Gazette No. 36974.
The purpose of the regulations is to prescribe general measures for the control of dust in all areas. The method to be used for measuring dustfall rate and the guideline for locating sampling points shall be American Standard for Testing and Materials method D1739 (ASTM D1739: 1970), or an equivalent method approved by any internally recognized body.
Any person who conducts any activity in such a way as to give rise to dust in quantities and concentrations that may exceed the dustfall standard set out in regulation 3 must, upon receipt of a notice from an air quality officer, implement a dustfall monitoring programme.
An air quality officer may require any person, through a written notice, to undertake a dustfall monitoring programme as contemplated in subregulation (5) if the officer reasonably suspects that the person is contravening regulation 3; or the activity being conducted requires a fugitive dust emission management plan as per the notice published in terms of section 21 of the Act.
A person required to implement the programme must, within a specified period, submit a dustfall monitoring report to the air quality officer. If such a person has an existing dustfall monitoring programme, the reports of that programme shall be accepted by the air quality officer if it meets the requirements of regulation 5.
A dustfall monitoring report must provide information on the location of sampling sites, including latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates, and a position indicator on a topographic map; classification of the area where samplers were located, in terms of residential and non-residential, and identification of sensitive receptors; as well as reference to the standard methods used for site selection, sampling and analysis, and any methods/laboratory accreditation, if applicable.
The report must also provide meteorological data (wind speed and direction, rainfall) for the sampling area; the dustfall monitoring results including a comparison of current year and historical results (if any) for each site, and including a tabular summary of compliance with the dustfall standard set in regulation 3; and any other relevant data that might influence the results.
An air quality officer may require any person to undertake continuous ambient air quality monitoring for PM10 in accordance with a notice published in terms of section 9 of the Act, if the dustfall monitoring report contemplated in regulation 5 indicates non-compliance with regulation 3.
Any person who has exceeded the dustfall standard set out in regulation 3 must, within three months after submission of the dustfall monitoring report, develop and submit a dustfall management plan to the air quality officer for approval.
A dustfall management plan, contemplated in subregulation (1), must identify all possible sources of dust within the affected site; detail the best practicable measures to be undertaken to mitigate dust emissions; detail an implementation schedule; identify the line management responsible for implementation; incorporate the dust fallout monitoring plan; and establish a register for recording all complaints received by the person regarding dustfall, and for recording follow-up actions and responses to the complainants.
Such a plan must be implemented within a month of the date of approval and an implementation progress report must be submitted to the air quality officer at agreed time intervals.
Download the National Dust Control Regulations.
For media queries:
Albi Modise
Cell: 083 490 2871
