It's a long and dusty road to quality of life in Soweto

"It's hell living here. We never open our windows, because the dust settles on our furniture and utensils, even our food," says a resident of Soweto.

GUMISAI MUTUME reports on the pollution problems.

Motorists driving through Soweto at times have to switch on their car lights during the day to drive through the thick dust of pollution descending on the settlement.

"It's hell living here. We never open our windows, because the dust settles on our furniture and utensils, even our food," says Susan Mswane, a resident of Meadowlands, a part of Soweto.

"My young children are always at the clinic, because of eye irritation due to the mine dust. We have also been told there is a high risk of lung disease," Mswane adds.

While dust fall-outs should be no more than 650 milligrams per day per square metre in residential areas, ongoing studies by the Soweto Air Monitoring (SAM) project show that pollution levels can be as high as 2000 milligrams per day per square metre in parts of the township, where more than three million people live.

For more than 10 years now, communities living in Meadowlands have been breathing in dust released by activities at the nearby Roodepoort Durban Deep gold mine.

The dust particles are known to cause chronic bronchitis and other lung diseases.

The Group for Environmental Monitoring (GEM) says some of the emissions are radio-active radon gases, and it warns that there is no safe level of radiation without a cancer risk.

"During the windy season, on the Black community side, dust is so bad that matric (school) examinations have had to be postponed," the GEM points out. A nearby school often has had to close down when the dust takes over.

In an official report, the mine claims it only became aware of the problem in 1995. At a community meeting last November, the mine's management promised to take action such as erecting barriers and using chemicals to repress the dust.

Environment Affairs Minister Kader Asmal admits inadequate legislation and poor administration have enabled the mines to get away with pollution.

The government, he adds, is working on mechanisms to deal with pollution. Of major concern is the sulphuric acid leaks from coal mine dumps, which result in groundwater pollution.

A few kilometres from the Durban Deep mine, a thermal power station also burps toxic emissions into the mouths of Sowetans.

South Africa depends largely on coal with a high sulphur content for its primary energy use -- 72 percent of energy needs -- despite its effect on the environment.

As a result, industrial carbon dioxide emitted by South Africa amounts to 1.6 percent of the world total or 40 percent of Africa's emissions.

Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are chiefly blamed for global warming and in South Africa where there are 400 years of reserves, the burning of coal is set to continue.

Many Sowetans also use coal for cooking and heating in a country where an estimated 70 percent of black households do not have electricity.

"The lack of access to convenient, affordable, sustainable and environmentally friendly energy sources has led disadvantaged communities to be reliant on expensive, less convenient sources such as coal, wood, paraffin, candles and gas for daily sustenance, which sometimes are a threat to the health and welfare of a given community," notes SAM.

"High levels of air pollution in coal-burning Black residential areas of South Africa have long been recognised as detrimental to human health and welfare," the environmental organisation says in its findings.

"The pollution in such areas represents amongst the highest concentrations to which the public is exposed."

Mine dump tailings, unpaved roads, landfill sites and industrial activity all contribute to Soweto's environmental problems.

The township is visibly bursting at the seams with town planners who are unable to cope with the massive population and the resulting urban environmental problems.

Some houses contain as many as 32 people on a stand designed to accommodate much less, and the township authorities cannot adequately administer services.

For more than a month now, garbage has not been collected due to a strike, but even in normal conditions, residents often depend on open spaces to dump their waste.

Now and again the dumps are burnt, sending unknown elements into the air.

"Air pollution is not a priority in local government," says Jabulani Sithole, chairman of the Soweto branch of the National Association for Clean Air.

"Council has other priorities such as housing, electricity and other social issues."

Sithole, who also holds a full-time job as a council environmental officer, leads the SAM research project.

"We have proved that the poorer you are, the more pollution you generate . . . for instance you burn anything in order to generate energy, even tyres," says Sithole. --