THE ATMOSPHERIC IMPACT OF SASOL SYNFUELS OPERATIONS ON ADJACENT RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPmNT

Sasol Synfuels is a petrochemical industry producing fuels and chemicals from coal andsituated in the Gert Sibande district municipality of Mpumdanga. These activities result in pollutants being released into the atmosphere. It was required to determine if reducing the radius of a 5.2 km pollution circle, measured from the centre of the plant, by 400m, toallow further residential development, will expose residents to an unacceptable ambient benzene concentration. A detailed study was implemented whereby the ambient air was sampled and analysised during a two seasonal period to determine how the benzene emissions released from the factory will impact on future residents within this 400m area.Meteorological measurements were also used to monitor atmospheric conditions.The results showed that the yearly average of ambient benzene concentrations for Secunda was 0.41 ppb and 0.64 ppb for eMbalenhle which was below the South African standard, but there were frequent sampling periods when the short-termconcentrations exceeded the annual standard, occurring mostly during the night, when the majority of residents were at home. From the results obtained, the 5.2 km pollutioncircle should therefore be maintained to ensure this risk of exposure to people is kept to a minimum

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The development of the South African petrochemical industry

South African Journal of Economic History ◽

10.1080/10113436.1995.10417247 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 35-50

Author(s):

John Giantsos

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Petrochemical Industry ◽

The South

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Correcting respirable photometric particulate measurements using a gravimetric sampling method

Clean Air Journal ◽

10.17159/2410-972x/2016/v26n1a7 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 10-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

B. Language ◽

S.J. Piketh ◽

R.P. Burger

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

South African ◽

Low Income ◽

Size Fraction ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Ambient Air Pollution ◽

Solid Fuels ◽

Correction Factors ◽

The South ◽

Photometric Calibration

According to the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act of 2004 people have the right to clean air and a healthy environment. Particulate matter (PM) emissions pose a significant health threat. Both indoor and ambient air pollution contribute to the burden of disease associated with poor air quality. This is particularly true within the South African setting where low income households make use of different solid fuels for heating and cooking purposes resulting in high levels of PM emissions. This paper focuses on the evaluation mass concentration measurements recorded by continuous photometric PM instruments within KwaDela, a low income settlement in Mpumalanga located on the South African Highveld. Thus, obtaining a photometric calibration factor for both the DustTrak Model 8530 and the SidePak AM510. Sampling took place during August 2014 for a period of seven days. The photometric and gravimetric instruments were collocated within the indoor environment of selected households. These instruments were all fitted with 10mm Dorr-Oliver Cyclone inlets to obtain the respirable (PM4) cut-point. The study found that both instruments tend to overestimate the indoor particulate mass concentrations when compared to the reference gravimetric method. The estimated photometric calibration factors for the DustTrak Model 8530 and SidePak AM510 are 0.14 (95%Cl: 0.09, 0.15) and 0.24 (95%Cl: 0.16, 0.30) respectively. The overestimation of the photometric measurements is rather significant. It is therefore important that the correction factors are applied to data collected in indoor environments prone to the combustion of solid fuels. The correction factors obtained from this and other studies vary as a result of the environment (ambient, indoor etc.) as well as the aerosol size fraction and the origin thereof. Thus, it is important to considered site specific calibration factors when implementing these photometric light-scattering instruments.

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Unlocking critical success factors and criteria in capital projects — A perspective from the South African petrochemical industry

2012 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management ◽

10.1109/ieem.2012.6837853 ◽

2012 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

D. Jacobs ◽

M-L Barry

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Petrochemical Industry ◽

Critical Success Factors ◽

Success Factors ◽

The South ◽

Capital Projects ◽

Critical Success

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An Empirical Investigation of the Determinants of Quality Communication in Projects Within the South African Petrochemical Industry

2019 Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET) ◽

10.23919/picmet.2019.8893713 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Amina Halifa ◽

Taryn Jane Bond-Barnard

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Petrochemical Industry ◽

Empirical Investigation ◽

The South

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Intra-urban variability of PM2.5 in a dense, low-income settlement on the South African Highveld

Clean Air Journal ◽

10.17159/caj/2021/31/1.9413 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Simon D. Moletsane ◽

Farina Lindeque ◽

Brigitte Language ◽

Ncobile C.Nkosi ◽

Joseph A. Adesina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Particulate Matter ◽

Air Quality ◽

South African ◽

Low Income ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Emission Sources ◽

Ambient Air Quality ◽

The South ◽

Space And Time ◽

Local Emission

High concentrations of the ambient particulate matter remains a concern on the South African Highveld, particularly in densely populated low-income settlements. These areas have several local emission sources that contribute to poor air quality and are often located close to industrial and other urban areas. The local sources vary in magnitude, space, and time. In South Africa, little has been done to assess the impacts of spatiotemporal variability on the credibility of using isolated ambient observations for regulatory purposes. This study aims to evaluate the intra-urban variability of ambient PM2.5 concentrations in a dense, low-income community. Ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in distinct microenvironments of KwaZamokuhle were simultaneously measured at 4 sites between March and June 2018. These measurements were collected using one permanent ambient monitoring station (AMS) and a temporary network of three E-BAM monitors (Site 2, Site 3, and Site 4). The daily PM2.5 concentrations at AMS, Site 2, Site 3, and Site 4 varied from 10 to 86 µg.m-3, 10 to 103 µg.m-3, 11 to 101 µg.m-3, and 9 to 113 µg.m-3, respectively. Extreme PM2.5 concentrations which exceeded the 24h PM2.5 NAAQS of 40 µg.m-3 were seen during the cold period (May and June); meanwhile, the warm period (March and April) recorded relatively lower PM2.5 episodes across different sections of KwaZamokuhle. During May-June, the highest diurnal concentrations of hourly averaged ambient PM2.5 were recorded at Site 4, in a downward sequence, followed by Site 3, Site 2, and AMS. Furthermore, the results showed that across KwaZamokuhle, Site 4 has the highest proportion of households using solid fuels for domestic purposes (cooking and heating) (55%) and the number of informal dwellings (117 households). Therefore, the study highlights the complexity of quantifying ambient air quality in an area where several local emission sources vary in space and time. Attempts to use monitoring data from a single station to assess ambient air quality, quantify human exposure, or evaluate the potential impacts of mitigation strategies in dense, low-income settlements should be done with care.

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