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The Richards Bay Air Quality Project
Richards Bay is a town on the north east coast of South Africa. It is
situated on a large coastal plain varying in altitude from sea level to 60m
and in width from 3 to 20km. The coastline in the area is characterized by a
steep eroding sandstone cliff-face and a strip of one to four dune ridges
which are parallel to the coast and reach a height of approximately 100m.
The only break in coastal dune ridge is the harbour and sanctuary entrances.
The area is bounded to the north and west by broken ridges also up to 100m.
The Port of Richards Bay is Africa’s largest port with substantial bulk
handling capacity and is home to the largest single coal handling facility
in the world. The area incorporates various forms of commercial, light and
heavy industrial activities including two aluminium smelters, a kraft
process paper mill, a phosphoric acid fertilizer plant, a minerals refining
plant and a number of smaller chemical and mechanical processors. The
proximity of a number of key industries to the residential areas has
increasingly been a cause for concern.
As a result of concerns regarding the levels of air pollution in the
Richards Bay region, the Richards Bay Clean Air Association, a Section 21
company (not for gain) was established.
Actions of the RBCAA
The Association has established a real time monitoring network to
characterize the quality of air. The RBCAA monitoring network includes five
SO2 monitoring stations, eight meteorological stations and a base station.
The purpose of this system is to assess air pollution in Richards Bay by
monitoring ground level concentrations of sulphur dioxide. This information,
combined with the outputs of the HAWK (a pollution dispersion model), is
used to monitor the emission of sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere.
A pollen monitoring network has also been established in the area to
establish seasonal trends and to ascertain the origin and source of actual
potential or health hazards from vegetation.
The RBCAA seeks to :
- take appropriate action
to ensure that ambient concentrations of airborne pollutants are below
Department of Environment guideline limits,
- ensure that the
information provided to and derived from the system is demonstrably of the
highest quality that may reasonably be achieved,
- that the information so
derived is available to all interested and affected parties and that the
results will be interpreted in such a way that they are readily understood
by all parties,
- ensure that the system
will be expanded to include other priority air pollutants, where
practically and economically feasible.
Future Goals
- The Association
intends to expand the system to include the monitoring and modeling of
additional gases such as nitrogen oxides and sulphur trioxide and to
finalise and implement particulate monitoring.
- A long term goal is to
link the HAWK model to a weather forecasting system which will allow
industry and local authorities to be aware of the arrival of weather
conditions not conducive to dispersion. This will facilitate the
implementation of appropriate management actions to minimise emissions
during this period.
Involved Parties
The RBCAA is funded and supported by:
Contact Information
For more information, contact The Richards Bay Clean Air Association:
Telephone: (035) 907 5340
Fax: (035) 907 5340
Email: info@rbcaa.co.za
RBCAA
PO Box 10299
Meerensee
3901
or
Public Officer - Mrs Sandy Camminga
Telephone: (035) 7860076
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