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Lesego Madumo

JOBURG’S environmental management department has initiated an air quality management survey in a bid to determine the levels of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emitted from vehicles. The survey will be used to create new laws to clamp down on polluters.

“We are breathing a lot of carbon monoxide in this city but people are not aware of it,” says Mbedzi Maluta Pennington, a senior specialist in air quality.

Pennington recently took part in an operation at the Metro Centre in Braamfontein, where the amount of fossil fuel burnt by city staff’s vehicles was evaluated.

An instrument was fitted to a car’s exhaust pipe and an emission testing station measured how much carbon was burnt by the vehicle.

Before the operation, the department had requested that city employees volunteer their vehicles to be tested so that the amount of carbon emitted could be evaluated and a solution found. However, only a few employees participated.

The plan is to reduce carbon emissions in Joburg by drafting regulations and introducing penalties for offenders. The extensive operation will be conducted throughout the city on a regular basis.

It is tailored to prioritise pollutants that are a hazard to human health and the environment, while reducing emissions caused by vehicles and domestic fuel burning.

The city is working on legislation that will permit officials to randomly stop vehicles on the road and conduct inspections. Currently, the law only allows for environmentalists to conduct tests on drivers who volunteer to be tested.

“There is a need in Joburg to address air quality problems, which are caused by vehicles, industries, wastewater treatment works and mine dumps,” Pennington says.

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas which can, in the long run, be detrimental to human health.

Normal levels of carbon dioxide in the air are 300 parts per million; however, the figure has soared to 370 parts per million, resulting in a disturbance in the stratosphere and a depletion of the ozone layer.

According to Gideon Slabbert, another senior specialist in air quality, vehicle testing for carbon emissions should “ideally” be conducted at least once a week.

“We need to conduct such operations on major roads within the city, mostly at inclination points – that is where one can spot the problem.

“In the past we used to focus on the colour of the smoke. Now we focus on analysis. We go into detail and measure every pollutant which cannot be seen in the air.”

If a vehicle is found to be emitting too many pollutants, the driver will be given three weeks to service the vehicle and return to the station where their car was initially tested for a second test.

In order to reduce the amount of fuel burnt by private vehicles, which ultimately leads to air pollution, the city advises motorists to: