04
December 2009 - Media statement - Department
of Environmental Affairs - FRIDAY, 04 DECEMBER
2009: The Minister of Water and Environmental
Affairs, Ms Buyelwa Sonjica today condemned
the recently uncovered illegal dumping of
health care risk waste (medical waste).
“The Department of Environmental
Affairs views these illegal activities in
a very serious light and the Environmental
Management Inspectorate (Green Scorpions)
will leave no stone unturned in ensuring
that those found transgressing the environmental
laws will face the full might of the law.”
The Minister stressed
that compliance with environmental laws
was not negotiable and players in the health
care risk waste sector must understand that.
She went on to state that a zero tolerance
approach would be adopted with the medical
waste sector.
“The Department cannot
condone the deliberate disregard of strict
laws aimed at ensuring that waste is correctly
managed, especially when this disregard
places our communities and environment at
risk,” said Sonjica.
The illicit dumpings
are also of grave concern to the Department
as medical waste can pose a health and bio-hazard
risk to the people that may come into contact
with it. There is also a risk that significant
harm may be caused to the environment such
as pollution of soil and underground water
and surface water resources.
The Minister reiterated
that the department is tightening the laws
on environmental offences. In terms of recent
amendments to environmental laws, the maximum
penalties for committing these offences
which contravene the National Environmental
Management: Waste Act are R10 million or
10 years imprisonment or both.
The magnitude and severity
of these recent crimes further reinforce
the critical need for dedicated green courts
to deal with these types of cases. The department
believes that the re-establishment of dedicated
green courts (including dedicated prosecutors)
would have a profound impact on the fight
against environmental crime.
To ensure that all avenues
of investigation and prosecution for this
case are followed we are working very closely
with various law enforcement agencies including
various divisions of SAPS, the National
Prosecuting Authority, and the Asset Forfeiture
Unit.
“I would also like to
commend the journalists who were involved
in this process of uncovering these sites.
The media play a significant role in conveying
information to the public and raising awareness
about such important issues,” she added.
I want to urge members
of the public to blow the whistle on such
activities. Very often, it is you, the citizen
that is in a position to provide information
on such serious crimes, bearing in mind
that this investigation was sparked through
a tip off received by the Department.
The Department has a
24 hour environmental crimes and incidents
hotline which we urge you to use as it is
you who can act as our eyes and ears on
the ground.
The environmental crimes
and incidents hotline number is 0800 205
005.
For media queries contact:
Sputnik Ratau
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GREEN SCORPIONS EXECUTE FURTHER SEARCH WARRANTS
IN THE FREE STATE
02 December 2009 - Media
statement - Department of Environmental
Affairs - WEDNESDAY, 02 DECEMBER 2009: The
Environmental Management Inspectorate (Green
Scorpions) today executed search warrants
at two premises in the Free State, the Welkom
Showgrounds and a farm 25 kilometres outside
of Welkom.
The search of these
premises confirmed that healthcare risk
waste (medical waste) has been buried at
these sites instead of being treated and
disposed of as required by law.
The raids at these sites
around Welkom have revealed that a significant
amount of medical waste has been buried,
including sharps, viles, syringes, drips,
dirty bandages and general medical waste.
This poses a significant
health risk to the businesses and communities
surrounding these areas. Medical waste includes
anatomical waste (amputated legs, arms,
placentas, foetus, etc.), pharmaceutical
waste (old tablets and medicine) and general
medical waste (used syringes, used medical
gloves, blood stained clothes, blood samples,
etc.) which poses a health and bio-hazard
risk to the people that may come into contact
with it, as well as a risk that significant
harm may be caused to the environment (pollution
of soil and underground water and surface
water resources).
This is in contravention
of a number of provisions of the National
Environmental Management: Waste Act which
came into effect on 3 July 2009. The maximum
penalties for committing these offences
are R10 million or 10 years imprisonment
or both. The execution of the warrants focused
on excavated areas of the site to confirm
the illegal burying of the waste. Large
areas, however, were not excavated at this
stage in order to limit the risks pending
the clean ups of the sites. Urgent notices
are being prepared to require these sites
to be cleaned up and rehabilitated.
This follows on from
last week, when the Department executed
search warrants simultaneously in Gauteng,
Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal on the premises
of Wasteman Group - a company responsible
for managing and disposing of waste – which
revealed serious contraventions of a number
of provisions of the National Environmental
Management: Waste Act.
The search last week
included Wasteman’s head office in Johannesburg,
Wasteman incinerator at Klerksdorp in the
North West province, Wasteman’s treatment
facility in Durban KZN and Maximus Bricks
in Welkom Industria. The search conducted
at Maximus Bricks revealed that hundreds
of tons of waste had been taken from the
two facilities in KZN and North West to
the Maximus Bricks site, to be illegally
buried.
We are currently investigating
possible links between the raid on Friday
and today’s raid.
All operations have
ceased on the site of Maximus Brick in Welkom
as per the compliance notice issued last
week. This includes the manufacturing of
bricks, transporting and burying of health
care risk waste, general waste and any other
operation primary or secondary to these
business ventures.
As per the compliance
notice appropriately trained security personnel
have been appointed to ensure 24 hour controlled
access to this property.
Maximus Bricks has employed
the services of a hazardous waste management
company to remove all waste from the site
using appropriate methods and dispose thereof
at a licensed hazardous waste disposal site.
However, work on the site in relation to
the clean up cannot proceed until the Department
has approved such methods of clean up and
disposal.
The waste management
company also needs to undertake a risk waste
assessment of the site as well as provide
timeframes within which all waste must be
removed to a licensed waste facility.
An investigation into
illegal dumping of healthcare risk is ongoing
by the Department of Environmental Affairs.
For media queries contact:
Albi Modise (Chief Director: Communications)
