Petroleum products group Engen, which has spent about R60-million a year on environmental improvements at its Durban refinery and Island View fuel supply facility over the last decade, reports that emissions at the refinery have been reduced by 60% and that this year the refinery has managed to keep within its sulphur dioxide permit requirements, which were exceeded last year.

This was announced last week, when the refinery and fuel supply facility – which have often come under fire from the local community – were awarded ISO 14001 certification for environmental management systems.

Willem Oosthuizen, the refinery’s GM, said that winning the sought-after certification was a milestone that was part of a journey that had started in 1999, when the refinery started voluntarily reducing emissions.

Administered and enforced by the South African Bureau of Standards in South Africa, ISO 14001 entails a lengthy initial site audit and numerous subsequent site audits, which occur at annual or six-monthly intervals.

The decision to become ISO compliant was taken two years ago as part of Engen’s sustainability strategy. To achieve certification, the refinery needed systems for every activity that could have an environmental impact.
Engen Petroleum CEO Radhid Yusof said accreditation was not the end of the road. “While economic viability is a critical requirement for sustainability, Engen acknowledges that this must be balanced with sound environmental policies, programmes and ongoing practices,” he said.

Ivan Moses, chairperson of the Merebank Ratepayers’ Association, which has had continual run-ins with Engen, said the association applauded Engen for its achievement, which could only help to improve its performance by implementing various checks and balances.

The refinery’s biggest off-site impact is its sulphur dioxide emissions, which affect the respiratory system, and unpleasant odours.

 

Lawrence Vartharajulu, the environmental representative on the Community Liaison Forum, which meets regularly with Engen, said he saluted Engen for adhering to ISO 14001.

The number of health complaints at Settlers Primary School, where Vartharajulu has taught since 1997, has dropped over the years, indicating that Engen’s environmental performance is improving.

“However, there are still a couple of instances a month of ten-minute sulphur dioxide exceed- ences which we would like to see addressed,” he said.