'A victory for the environment'
2007-03-16 14:31
Cape Town - Disintegrating boxes of medical waste left out in the rain and rotting waste from abattoirs dumped in ditches in the veld were among the environmental hazards discovered by the Green Scorpions during a nationwide blitz this week.
Inspectors from the environmental police force have carried out a series of enforcement inspections on locations as far apart as Cape Peninsula and Mpumalanga, in what the department of environmental affairs on Friday hailed as "a victory for environmental protection".
Among the offenders collared in the crackdown - which took place on Thursday - were six "grossly non-compliant" abattoirs in the Olifantshoek, Kathu and Kuruman areas of the Northern Cape.
At five of them, inspectors found "liquid abattoir waste" being kept in septic tanks that were overflowing into the veld.
The department said: "Off-cuts were found dumped in trenches, where the waste is either burnt using tyres, or left to rot. At some of the sites, full trenches were simply covered up and another trench dug for waste disposal."
At one abattoir the manager had tried to chase away the inspectors.
Waste 'piled up'
"The Northern Cape department of environment and tourism is considering appropriate enforcement action against the abattoirs. The maximum penalty for the illegal disposal of waste is 10 years imprisonment or a fine of R200 000, or both," said the department.
The facility's waste incinerator was not working, the manager was absent, and the stored waste had piled up.
"These conditions are in gross non-compliance of the strict requirements set by the Gauteng department of agriculture, conservation and environment."
The maximum penalty for such non-compliance was 10 years in jail, a R5m fine, or both.
The Green Scorpions also swooped on the Foskor chemical plant in Richard's Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, in the wake of "numerous incidents" at the state-owned plant where there have been serious breaches of environmental legislation over the past five years.
"Officials were met with a co-operative attitude by Foskor management. Findings of the inspection will only be available after completion of the inspection on Friday and a comprehensive assessment of the plant's status of compliance with all environmental legislation and permits."
One person arrested
In Mpumalanga, inspectors confronted the developer of an illegal resort on the banks of the Gladdespruit River, near Nelspruit.
In the Western Cape, marine and coastal management inspectors carried out inspections at boat-launch slipways on the Cape Peninsula.
"During these operations one person was arrested for the illegal possession of abalone."
The department said about 890 inspectors had been assigned, or were awaiting assignment, to posts around the country.
"This will provide South Africa with the largest environmental police force in the history of the country's conservation and environmental protection efforts," it said.
- SAPA