Mtholephi Mthimkhulu on the Engen Refinery Fire
21 November 2007
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, Mtholephi
Mthimkhulu, would like to re-assure the communities residing in the Greater
South Durban Basin in the vicinity of the Engen Refinery plant that the
Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs working together
with other departments and the eThekwini Municipality will take all the
necessary requisite precautions to safeguard their lives.
This follows an incident of fire that broke out in the oil refinery on
Monday evening after a petrol storage tank caught alight during a thunderstorm
and it is suspected that a bolt of lightning could have been source of fire but
only an official investigation will determine the actual cause of the fire.
MEC Mthimkhulu also urged the residents living in suburbs close to the
refinery to remain calm and let the emergency teams working on the incident to
complete their work and investigations uninterrupted.
"Since Monday evening, officials from the department's Environmental
Management Services Section have been giving me frequent updates with regard to
the fire and the Head of Department Adv Modidima Mannya has tasked our South
Region Environmental Services Manager Sarah Allan to be the department's
liaison contact person with Engen Refinery Management," said MEC
Mthimkhulu.
He added that senior environmental officers attached to the department's
Environmental Management Services' Monitoring, Compliance and Enforcement
section have maintained contact with Engen Refinery Environmental officers.
"On Monday evening immediately after the fire incident was reported we
requested Engen Refinery management to furnish us with a Section 30 report as
per the dictates of the National Environmental Management Act (Nema) which
basically means that we have to be informed in writing within 24 hours of the
occurring of the incident," said Mthimkhulu.
In addition, said MEC Mthimkhulu, the Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry had authorised Engen to release good quality storm water to the canal
so that there could be capacity for contaminated storm water if it was
required.
"On Tuesday evening, we also put in place more air quality monitors in South
Durban Basin including one outside Settlers Primary School so that we could
monitor whether there were any toxic fumes generated by the plumes from the
fire. In addition foam was used but with limited success due to the buckled
roof of the petrol storage tank that caught alight on Monday evening," said
Mthimkhulu.
"We are very much concerned about the slow level smoke that is impacting on
the neighbouring communities. To allay the fears and concerns of the residents
we will be appointing an independent air quality consultant to determine
whether residents have been adversely exposed to toxicity of any kind during
the fire," said Mthimkhulu.
MEC Mthimkhulu together with senior environmental officials from the
department will on Thursday, 22 November 2007, visit the Engen Refinery to meet
with Engen management in order to get a first hand account of what transpired
on Monday evening.
Thereafter he will address members of the media on the protocols and
measures that are to be followed and implemented while the official probe into
the circumstances that resulted in the fire gets underway. Members of the media
are invited to join the MEC on his visit to the Engen Refinery. Herewith are
the details:
Date: 22 November 2007
Time: 12h00
Venue: Engen Refinery, Wentworth, South Durban.
Please note: Owing to the fact that the refinery is governed by the National
Key Points Act, members of the media intending to accompany the MEC during his
visit on Thursday at noon are advised to bring along with them their Identity
Documents and Official Press Cards. They are advised to immediately liaise with
Engen's Corporate Affairs section and furnish them with their details prior to
their arrival for planning and logistical purposes. The contact persons are
Portia Mpofu and Herb Payne and their number is: 083 677 3317
Enquiries:
Mbulelo Baloyi
Media Liaison Officer
Cell: 082 415 7277
Issued by: Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs,
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
21 November 2007
