{"id":14943,"date":"2021-09-21T04:00:12","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T04:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/?post_type=stories&#038;p=14943"},"modified":"2024-09-19T13:40:11","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T13:40:11","slug":"210921-upl-disaster-residents-kept-in-the-dark-about-dangers-on-their-doorstep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/210921-upl-disaster-residents-kept-in-the-dark-about-dangers-on-their-doorstep\/","title":{"rendered":"UPL disaster: Residents kept in the dark about dangers on their doorstep"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Karinda Jagmohan was one of the first journalists to arrive at the scene of the UPL warehouse fire. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">When she got there, mid-morning on Tuesday 13 July, the fire had already been burning for 12 hours. But no one tried to stop Jagmohan and her cameraman Philani Zuma from approaching the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was surprisingly easy to gain access to the warehouse,\u201c Jagmohan told us.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp; <\/span>\u201cApart from the chaos around Queen Nandi drive, the other stretches on the N2 highway between Durban and Umhlanga were eerily quiet &#8230; There was an unmarked police vehicle at the gate, we greeted the police officers who didn\u2019t stop us as we walked in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Nearby, paramedics were assessing the body of a man who had been killed, supposedly trampled in the unrest the night before. He died, Jagmohan recalled, \u201cwith a rock in his hand.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">In the footage you can see black liquid running out of the gate of the UPL warehouse. Firefighters had warned the two Newzroom Afrika journalists that the thick, oily liquid would damage their shoes if they stepped it in and to walk on the grass as they approached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere was grey\/black smoke billowing from the [warehouse]&#8230; As we walked closer the chemical smell grew stronger \u2013 almost like a strong mix of detergents,\u201d Jagmohan recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A chemical plant in Cornubia is engulfed in flames. The smell of chemicals fill the air, and the building is falling apart. Officials say it will take two weeks to douse flames completely <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/looting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#looting<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Newzroom405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Newzroom405<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pPMIaoXpdg\">pic.twitter.com\/pPMIaoXpdg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Karinda Jagmohan (@Karinda_J) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Karinda_J\/status\/1414873484837195776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 13, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">While firefighters were equipped with respirator masks, the journalists only had ordinary cloth masks: \u201c[W]e both started feeling light-headed. My eyes were burning and my throat was dry&#8230; you could feel you were breathing in toxins.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">What neither knew, was that they were standing at ground zero of a full-blown chemical disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Ground zero<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">It has been more than two months since the UPL warehouse was set alight, blanketing neighbourhoods in Durban in choking chemical fumes, poisoning a river and closing 40km of beaches.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">The warehouse in Cornubia was targeted on the night of 12 July, as part of the widespread unrest in Kwazulu-Natal.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">[sidebarContentEmbed ]<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"juxtapose\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.knightlab.com\/libs\/juxtapose\/latest\/embed\/index.html?uid=4d873e6e-1620-11ec-abb7-b9a7ff2ee17c\" width=\"100%\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><span class=\"aglet_caption\">In April, the agro-chemical giant UPL moved into a newly-built warehouse in Cornubia. Three months later, half the warehouse was destroyed during widespread unrest in the province. UPL believes that the building, which contained millions of litres of pesticides, was intentionally targeted. <\/span>[\/sidebarContentEmbed]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Yet in the past two months residents have struggled to get answers about the chemical disaster unfolding on their doorstep. Many are wondering if they have been exposed to toxic chemicals and will wake up years from now with cancer courtesy of UPL. Others \u2013 who rely on farming, fishing and tourism \u2013 are wondering if their livelihoods will ever recover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Those who live alongside the river in Blackburn Village \u2013 and who bore the brunt of the fire\u2019s toxic fumes \u2013 have had little more to go on than signs erected by clean-up crews in hazmat gear, warning that \u201cdangerous chemicals\u201d spilled into the river which \u201cmay be toxic and dangerous to humans\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Two weeks ago, provincial authorities finally agreed to release the test results of samples taken in the days and weeks following the fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">The results \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/stories\/210909-upl-disaster-initial-tests-found-high-levels-of-arsenic-from-durbans-chemical-spill\/\"><span class=\"s1\">available on amaBhungane\u2019s website<\/span><\/a> \u2013 show that, amongst other things, high levels of arsenic (a known carcinogen), atrazine (a herbicide banned in many countries) and bromoxynil (a herbicide that could cause birth defects) were found in soil samples taken just 500m from Blackburn Village.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">It is tempting to think that no one could plan for a disaster like this, and that UPL and the city did the best they could under extraordinary circumstances.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">In fact, every city plans for disasters like the one that hit the UPL warehouse on the night of 12 July. EThekwini Municipality has, for instance, a 22-page plan that spells out what should happen in the event of a chemical incident in the refinery-rich South Durban area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">The plan \u2013 called the \u201cOff-site Emergency Plan for the South Durban Basin\u201d \u2013 includes a pre-prepared script for evacuation and shelter-in-place orders as well as contact details for radio and TV stations that should be contacted to broadcast the emergency message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">But no plan existed for the UPL warehouse, in part because the city was kept in the dark about what was stored in the warehouse. And as a result, no emergency broadcast went out on 12 July to warn the residents of Blackburn Village, Izinga, Umhlanga, Mount Edgecombe, Prestondale or Phoenix that a plume of contaminated smoke was heading their way.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The smell of sulphur<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Kwanele Msizazwe, a local community leader, had woken up on Tuesday 13 July to a strong north wind carrying smoke from the UPL fire across Blackburn Village where he lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">This informal settlement lies just over a kilometer north of the warehouse. Its roughly 7 000 residents were directly in the path of the chemical plume escaping from the warehouse on 12 July. But the pungent smell, alerting them to the danger, did not arrive until a day later.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe fire started in the evening, the following day we started to smell that smoke [and realised] it\u2019s not normal &#8230; If you have ever been there when tyres are burning, it smells like that,\u201d he told amaBhungane.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1386\" height=\"780\" src=\"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kwanele-Msizazwe-at-Ohlanga-river_Mlungisi-Mbele_CREDIT-Mlungisi-Mbele-e1632193803886.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21005\" srcset=\"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kwanele-Msizazwe-at-Ohlanga-river_Mlungisi-Mbele_CREDIT-Mlungisi-Mbele-e1632193803886.jpeg 1386w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kwanele-Msizazwe-at-Ohlanga-river_Mlungisi-Mbele_CREDIT-Mlungisi-Mbele-e1632193803886-600x338.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kwanele-Msizazwe-at-Ohlanga-river_Mlungisi-Mbele_CREDIT-Mlungisi-Mbele-e1632193803886-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kwanele-Msizazwe-at-Ohlanga-river_Mlungisi-Mbele_CREDIT-Mlungisi-Mbele-e1632193803886-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kwanele-Msizazwe-at-Ohlanga-river_Mlungisi-Mbele_CREDIT-Mlungisi-Mbele-e1632193803886-768x432.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1386px) 100vw, 1386px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Community leader Kwanele Msizazwe points to the contaminated Ohlanga river that flows right past Blackburn Village. (Photographer: Mlungisi Mbele).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou can\u2019t tolerate it when you are outside,\u201d he said. \u201c[Y]our chest will be dry, your nose is very dry, even when you are trying to talk, it\u2019s like there\u2019s something in your throat. It feels like you\u2019re choking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Wendy Kuthala Mantwa, another resident of Blackburn Village, confirmed this. \u201cIt was choking. You would cough and cough until you throw up,\u201d she told us.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Two kilometers south east of the UPL warehouse, in Umhlanga Ridge, Lyndall Valentine was experiencing similar symptoms: \u201cThe smell of chemicals was so intense that even with all my doors and windows closed, I literally felt like I was choking. I couldn&#8217;t stop coughing and I could literally taste a chemical taste in my mouth,\u201d she told a parliamentary portfolio committee last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Over the next few days her symptoms got worse: \u201cI had a rash all over my face, vomiting, headache, nausea, my throat was swollen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Concerned, she took two covid tests but both came back negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">In Prestondale, Anton Muller and Angelo Tselentis had had a bird\u2019s eye view of UPL fire as they did night patrols on the Cornubia bridge to prevent further arson and looting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe smell was so unbearable, especially when the wind changed direction, that our eyes and throats were burning but we stood there to do what we had to do. On the one night that we were standing on the bridge on guard, we could not see two meters in front of us. It was like being in a mist, in a fog,\u201d Tselentis wrote in a letter, which Muller read out at recent public meeting at Reddam school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">The meeting was organised by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/384354576521791\/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2252%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22%5b%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22share_link%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22share_link%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A%7B%5C%22invite_link_id%5C%22%3A233268908722849%7D%7D%5d%22%7D\"><span class=\"s1\">UPL Cornubia Fire Civil Society Action Group<\/span><\/a> which has brought civil society and residents together under one roof.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Muller himself added: \u201cWe were praying for the wind to change direction so that we could breathe. And then we realised, as the wind was changing direction it was going to another community that we knew very well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Nicole Bollman is the ward councillor for both Umhlanga and Blackburn Village: \u201cInitially it smelled like Guy Fawkes, like sulphur,\u201d she told us. \u201cThat&#8217;s what sort of smelled like the beginning and then it became sickening, like nausea. It sort of hit the back of your palate and sinuses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs soon as the smoke started hitting that\u2019s when the question starting getting asked &#8230; what was in there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Slow reflexes<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">UPL had in fact sent out a warning on the first day of the fire, but it failed to answer the burning question: what chemicals were in the choking fumes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, the message said that \u201ca warehouse that was storing chemicals\u201d had been set alight: \u201cAs a precautionary measure people should remain inside if they\u2019re in the area of the smoke cloud. People are also advised to cover their eyes and nose by wearing an ordinary mask and glasses over their eyes,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">The message was intended for the \u201cgeneral Cornubia \/ Umhlanga community\u201d, but the distribution list was limited and failed, from what we can tell, to reach most residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">UPL would eventually upgrade their advisory to warn that \u201cpeople with asthmatic conditions and very young infants\u201d should \u201cavoid the immediate surroundings of the Cornubia warehouse\u201d. But still the company stubbornly refused to release a full inventory of products that had been stored in the warehouse. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">By comparison, when the nearby Digistics warehouse in Cornubia became concerned that it could be targeted in the unrest, it issued a pre-emptive statement to neighbours and the fire department, explaining that it had 2 500 kg of potentially explosive anhydrous ammonia on site and that it may be necessary to order an evacuation if the Digistics warehouse was targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">UPL was storing 26 000 kg of Masta 900 \u2013 an insecticide containing the \u201cvery potent neurotoxin\u201d methomyl which can be fatal if inhaled and produces \u201cvery toxic fumes\u201d when burned \u2013 yet UPL warned no one, even after the warehouse was set alight.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Firefighters who spent 10 days extinguishing the fire had no idea that methomyl was present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">UPL did not respond to our questions but issued a public statement last month saying that \u201cno expense or expertise is being spared\u201d in the clean-up operation.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>UPL\u2019s full statement is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.upl-ltd.com\/za\/news-details\/update-on-clean-up-and-remediation-after-arson-attack-on-cornubia-warehouse\"><span class=\"s1\">available on its website<\/span><\/a>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\"><b>A hazardous shade of turquoise<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">What did not become apparent until the third day was that a large amount of water had escaped from the warehouse and was now carrying a toxic chemical soup down a wetland and towards the Ohlanga river.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">That warning would only arrive when the river turned a hazardous shade of turquoise and clean-up crews in hazmat suits turned up to inspect the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[W]e noticed the water had changed and the colour was now green,\u201d Kuthala Mantwa told us. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know what was happening until we saw the warnings and the [clean-up crews] checking the place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Downstream, dead fish were washing up on banks of the Umhlanga lagoon and dead crayfish littered Umhlanga beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><span class=\"s2\">Read Daily Maverick\u2019s report: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymaverick.co.za\/article\/2021-07-15-age-of-anarchy-aftermath-fish-and-marine-creatures-in-mass-die-off-after-arson-attacks-on-kzn-chemical-plants\/\"><span class=\"s3\">Fish and marine creatures in mass die-off after arson attacks on KZN chemical plants<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Desmond D\u2019Sa is a well-known environmental activist from the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA). When he heard reports on dead fish, he came to investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy heart was sore when I saw those dead fish, small babies all killed,\u201d he said during the recent public meeting. \u201c[W]e\u2019ve been fighting for the protection of the fish in Durban, and ensuring that the nurseries are protected&#8230; But this was taken away with one fire. Doof! Gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Clean-up crews would eventually collect three-and-a-half tons of dead fish and crustaceans from the lagoon and beaches.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">But what stung D\u2019Sa was that there was no warning: \u201cNobody came out in the first few days to notify the public. Not the company, not those responsible at local government level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The city finally steps in<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">In the midst of the chaos caused by the unrest, it would take several days for the eThekwini municipality to step in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Municipality was not aware of the contents of the warehouse prior to the incident so the fish kill and complaints of the air pollution were surprising and of concern to the city once they determined that the smoke cloud had irritants in it,\u201d a spokesperson told us. \u201cMedia releases were issued as soon as this became apparent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">This was, however, only after reports of dead fish started surfacing on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReneLaw08\/status\/1415592423728812033?s=20\"><span class=\"s1\">social media<\/span><\/a> on 15 July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">On Friday 16 July, almost four days after the fire began, the city issued a public alert, closing the beaches of Virginia, Beachwood, Glenashley, La Lucia, Umhlanga Main and Bronze, Umdloti, La Mercy and Tongaat beaches, \u201cas a precautionary measure\u201d.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe pollution is considered serious and can affect one\u2019s health if species are collected and consumed. Lagoon and seawater contact must be avoided,\u201d it warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">That weekend, posters started appearing along the beaches and in Blackburn Village: \u201cThe water in the river is polluted by these chemicals and may be toxic and dangerous to humans,\u201d a poster in isiZulu warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Another warned of \u201creported fish and crustacean kills\u201d at uMhlanga and uMdhloti lagoons: \u201cWhile the exact cause of this remains unknown, it is considered serious and can affect one\u2019s health if collected and consumed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\"><b>No risk to public health<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Although clean-up crews hired by UPL had been on site all week, UPL was still maintaining that it might not be responsible for the chemical disaster unfolding in north Durban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">On Saturday 17 July, Ravi Pillay, the MEC for economic affairs, tourism and the environment, conducted an inspection of the still-smoldering UPL warehouse.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to media afterwards, he said: \u201c[UPL] are quite emphatic they are not the cause of the smell but of course we are doing tests and analysis and we will get the results next week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe don\u2019t think that there\u2019s any risk to public health, but we assess that there\u2019s some risk to marine health &#8230; The company doesn\u2019t want to concede at this point that that&#8217;s what caused a little bit of marine life death.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">A few days later, UPL reassured the public that its own toxicologist had looked at the list of chemicals and concluded \u201cthere is a minimal risk of any long-terms effects to the health of people exposed to smoke from the warehouse\u201d, while still refusing to disclose a full list of what was stored in there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Government\u2019s own task team would not be provided with a full inventory until three weeks after the fire.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">When that inventory finally leaked to the public, residents and watchdog groups were furious.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The warehouse contained roughly 2.5 million litres of pesticides and another 3.8 million kgs in solid form, according to the leaked inventory published by amaBhungane: <a href=\"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/stories\/210818-upl-fire-heres-the-full-inventory-of-chemicals-in-the-destroyed-cornubia-warehouse\/\"><span class=\"s1\">Here\u2019s the full inventory of chemicals in the destroyed Cornubia warehouse<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[W]hat should have been a concerted collective public health effort right from the onset was delayed by at least a week until information started trickling through,\u201d Rico Euripidou is a public health expert with the non-profit groundWork, said during the public meeting.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd then when that information did start trickling through &#8230; the public health advice coming from UPL and from the government was inconsistent with the risk of what was in that warehouse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">When the test results finally arrived a month later, it was clear that there was a very real risk to public health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\"><b>What is lurking in the water?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">The warehouse that housed UPL was built on a hill, just above a wetland. The wetland feeds a small stream which, two-and-a-half kilometers later, empties into the Ohlanga river as it runs past Blackburn Village.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SS3_tweetable_square-scaled-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21007\" srcset=\"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SS3_tweetable_square-scaled-1.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SS3_tweetable_square-scaled-1-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SS3_tweetable_square-scaled-1-100x100.jpeg 100w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SS3_tweetable_square-scaled-1-600x600.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SS3_tweetable_square-scaled-1-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SS3_tweetable_square-scaled-1-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SS3_tweetable_square-scaled-1-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SS3_tweetable_square-scaled-1-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/SS3_tweetable_square-scaled-1-2048x2048.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">WS2, where the second water sample was collected, is in a small bend in the stream, roughly 600m away from the warehouse. SS3, where the third soil sample was collected, is further from the warehouse (900m) but closer to Blackburn Village (500m).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">These two sites were two of the more contaminated in the initial tests taken on Monday 19 July.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">At WS2, tests found high levels arsenic in the water: at 567 ppm, more than 4 000 times the limit of 0.12 ppm, which is the recommended maximum for recreational water use, according to Element Material Technology, the laboratory which conducted the tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">At SS3, tests found high levels of both arsenic and chloroform in the soil. The latter \u2013 which is classified as a suspected carcinogen and \u201csuspected of damaging the unborn child\u201d \u2013 should be present at no more than 0.11 ppm; tests found 20 ppm.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Other, unexplained compounds were also found at these sites.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Tests at WS2 found 950 times the recommended limit of 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, a common solvent that is classified as \u201ctoxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects\u201d and which causes \u201cserious eye irritation\u201d and is \u201charmful if inhaled\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Soil samples from SS3 found 130 ppm of naphthalene, a hydrocarbon \u201csuspected of causing cancer\u201d. The legal limit is 28.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">A second batch of tests, conducted at the end of July, looked for a wider range of chemical compounds. Levels of arsenic had seemingly declined, but bromoxynil, a herbicide known to cause birth defects in lab rats, was found in almost all soil samples that were taken two weeks after the fire began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Are we safe?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">But what do the results actually tell us about the risks to public health?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Samples of beach sand \u2013 collected from the shuttered Umhlanga beach two weeks after the fire \u2013 contained low levels of arsenic but within the legal limit, leading UPL\u2019s toxicologist, Dr. Gerard Verdoorn, to conclude that \u201ca person will have to ingest &#8230; 2400 kg of beach sand\u201d to reach a lethal dose of MSMA, the UPL herbicide that contains an organic form of arsenic. \u201cThis is impossible scenario,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Another group of environmental experts hired by UPL disagreed with Verdoorn\u2019s assessment that this meant the beaches were safe. For more, read <a href=\"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/stories\/210909-upl-disaster-initial-tests-found-high-levels-of-arsenic-from-durbans-chemical-spill\/\"><span class=\"s1\">UPL disaster: Initial tests found high levels of arsenic from Durban\u2019s chemical spill <\/span><\/a><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">But as one moves back upstream, the concentration of chemicals becomes much more dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Roughly a quarter of one soil sample, collected 600m from the UPL warehouse, was made up of the herbicide picloram (235g\/kg), but the average-sized adult would still need to ingest 3.2kg of contaminated soil to get a lethal dose. (Picloram is classified as \u201charmful\u201d.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">The same soil sample also contained bromoxynil (37.6g\/kg), a herbicide classified as \u201ctoxic\u201d. Around 14.4g of pure bromoxynil would be enough to kill an average-sized adult, according to our calculations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><strong>Read our investigative series into the UPL chemical warehouse fire:<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"entry-title wp-block-paragraph\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/stories\/210817-here-it-is-the-toxic-stockpile-of-chemicals-in-torched-durban-warehouse\/\">Here it is: The toxic stockpile of chemicals in torched Durban warehouse<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"entry-title wp-block-paragraph\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/stories\/210818-upl-fire-heres-the-full-inventory-of-chemicals-in-the-destroyed-cornubia-warehouse\/\">UPL fire: Here\u2019s the full inventory of chemicals in the destroyed Cornubia warehouse<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"entry-title wp-block-paragraph\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/stories\/210820-upl-chemical-disaster-a-gaping-legal-loophole-or-jaw-dropping-negligence\/\">UPL chemical disaster: A gaping legal loophole or jaw-dropping negligence?<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"entry-title wp-block-paragraph\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/stories\/210909-upl-disaster-initial-tests-found-high-levels-of-arsenic-from-durbans-chemical-spill\/\">UPL disaster: Initial tests found high levels of arsenic from Durban\u2019s chemical spill<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">But there is a large gap between a dose that will kill you and the low concentrations that are considered safe enough to use on crops, albeit with care over handling and chronic exposure.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">The UPL test results suggest chemical contamination that falls somewhere in between. Not enough to kill you with a single dose, but enough to immediately make you sick? Definitely. And enough to cause long-term health effects? Maybe.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">For instance, when bromoxynil-based products are sprayed on crops it is diluted so that no more than two litres of the herbicide is sprayed over a hectare. Even then, UPL recommends that you wait two days before re-entering the sprayed area (unless you are wearing protective gear), and should wait up to 40 days before allowing animals to graze in those areas. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">The UPL warehouse contained 17 000 litres of bromoxynil-based products and another 26 000kg of raw product, according to the leaked inventory. We still do not know how much of that was burned up in the warehouse fire, how much was carried off in the smoke and how much poured down the wetland and into the Ohlanga river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">All we know from the tests is that two weeks after the fire, soil collected 600m away from the warehouse, contained 37 632 mg\/kg of bromoxynil.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">In lab tests, a 35mg dose of bromoxynil (per kg of body mass) was enough to trigger birth defects in rats and rabbits. Using Verdoorn\u2019s formula, one handful of soil from this contaminated site could in theory contain enough bromoxynil to pose a similar risk to pregnant mothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">But to know who has been exposed and to what extent requires a more complex modelling exercise, which means more waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Ground truthing<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe thing that we are most concerned about are things like pregnancy outcomes, like neurological effects in children,\u201d Euripidou from groundWork said during the public meeting earlier this month. \u201cAnd not just in the acute phase when the fire was burning and they were exposed to smoke, but also in the in the in the longer term in the chronic phase.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">At the meeting Euripidou slammed government for failing to set up a health surveillance system as the chemical disaster unfolded, calling it \u201ca public health failure\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[W]hen people were experiencing what are called the acute impacts \u2013 the skin irritation, the throat irritation, the eyes \u2013 as part of your surveillance system &#8230; you would begin to think about what kind of chemical metabolites in the body that you would want to test.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt&#8217;s also part of a process called ground truthing,\u201d he explained. \u201cYou have to record where the complaints are coming from and you have to map them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">That data can then be used to test the accuracy of the models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we rely solely on models to tell us what happened, we are going to fool ourselves and we&#8217;re not going to understand and record the full extent of this,\u201d he warned.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\"><b>When will life return to normal?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">Monitors from both the municipality and ULP have started conducting health surveys with residents impacted by the fire, and UPL\u2019s clean-up crews are continuing to remove contaminated water and soil from the area.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">That contaminated waste \u2013 up to 5 000 kilolitres of contaminated water, 800 tons of solid waste, 100 tons of contaminated steel and 150 tons of contaminated concrete \u2013 will go to high hazardous waste dumps in Kwazulu-Natal and Gauteng.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[sidebarContentEmbed ]<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"juxtapose\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.knightlab.com\/libs\/juxtapose\/latest\/embed\/index.html?uid=1ed8042e-161e-11ec-abb7-b9a7ff2ee17c\" width=\"100%\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe> <span class=\"aglet_caption\">Roughly 2.5km away from the warehouse, the contaminated stream empties into the Ohlanga river as it flows past Blackburn Village. In June, this area was lush and green. Ten days after the fire, the vegetation had turned brown. <\/span>[\/sidebarContentEmbed]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">But provincial authorities say it will likely take years to rehabilitate the Ohlanga river and the Umhlanga lagoon. And waiting without answers brings heartbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere was three guys in Blackburn Village who were doing fishing&#8230; For them it was a business &#8230; they used to go there at night with 20 litre buckets, when they come back in the mornings, those 20 litre buckets will be full of fish, then they will go out and sell those fish &#8230; They&#8217;re still not working &#8230; It&#8217;s very difficult for them to survive,\u201d Msizazwe said during the public meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">He continued: \u201cThere are guys with vegetable gardens there. One of them &#8230; is nearby that river, and I saw his veggies changing colour. Everyone knows that your spinach supposed to be green &#8230; Now it&#8217;s changing colour to be brown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1 wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEven the leaves of trees that are nearby that river are also like that,\u201d Msizazwe said. \u201cThe colour of the sand is changing to black.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Test results have finally confirmed that pesticides \u2013 including known carcinogens \u2013 poisoned rivers, soil and beaches in Durban. Provincial authorities say they have opened a criminal case against agro-chemical giant UPL but for residents who were exposed to toxic fumes and contaminated water, there is a growing fear of the unknown long-term health effects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":21009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[231,3,706,460,36,474,697],"class_list":["post-14943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-amab","tag-amabhungane","tag-chemicals","tag-dewald-van-rensburg","tag-ethekwini","tag-susan-comrie","tag-upl"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14943"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30056,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14943\/revisions\/30056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}