Teams from the Department of Environmental Affairs and eThekwini Municipality are working around the clock to contain an oil spill from the African Sun oil factory in Durban.
The factory was gutted by fire last week on Thursday. It is estimated that at least 150 000 litres of oil have spilled into the canal, and have reached the entrance of the Durban harbour, which is adjacent to the factory. As part of the measures to contain the incident, the Department of Environmental Affairs says the factory owners have employed a commercial clean-up company, which is attending to the incident. In addition, the canal has been boomed off. The department has also dispatched technical and compliance officials to inspect the incident and to ensure that salvage operations are consistent with the prescripts of the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) Act and the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan. “The officials will provide guidance on the actions that have to be taken to prevent the situation from getting out of hand and to ensure that the integrity of the ocean environment and marine species is not compromised,” spokesperson Zolile Nqayi said.
Recent history of dangerous spills
Durban has experienced a number of spills over the past few months. On 7 February 2015, a fire started at a chemical warehouse in Westmead, Pinetown that stores a variety of chemicals. Large volumes of water were used to extinguish the fire. The fire water mixed with chemicals that had been contained in drums on the site and entered the stormwater drains before they could be sealed off. On 24 December, a burst pipeline between Johannesburg and Durban burst, spilling 20 000 litres of diesel, at an estimated value of R2.4 million and the clean-up bill was expected to run into millions. In November 2014, hazardous petrochemicals were spilled at the Island View chemical storage in Durban, in close proximity to residential areas. This cause concern for local residents until emergency response officials could clear the scene.
