The fire at the Luipaardsvlei Landfill Site in Krugersdorp, which has been raging for weeks, poses serious health risks to residents of the Mogale City Local Municipality.
This is the fourth fire to break out at the landfill site since January this year.
The FF Plus receives complaints from residents about breathing and sinus problems, fatigue, burning eyes and headaches – presumably caused by the fire at the landfill – daily.
The party has already sent several letters to Mogale City to bring the urgency of the matter to its attention, but no feasible solutions have been found.
Consequently, the FF Plus lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) yesterday, requesting that the matter be investigated.
In terms of section 24 of the Bill of Rights, every person has the right to live and work in an environment that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing.
That is currently not the case in Krugersdorp.
The fire is continuously releasing, among other things, toxic gases such as methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphate into the air which cover Krugersdorp like a thick blanket.
In addition to the toxic gases, there are also traces of benzene, toluene and ethylbenzene in the air. The toxic gases also have a foul odour.
The frequent fires can be attributed to the fact that the Municipality does not have the right equipment to manage the landfill site.
The waste materials should be distributed evenly across the site and should also be properly compacted. In this way, a large quantity of oxygen is eliminated. At the moment, though, decomposing material generates heat and releases toxic gases which could ignite when it comes into contact with oxygen, thus causing fires.
Fires could also be started by squatters who live near the site.
The FF Plus will put more pressure on the Municipality to resolve the problem and will also approach the Gauteng province to ensure that the problem is addressed.
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