Greenpeace Africa volunteers have launched a petition to demand accountability from chemicals company United Phosphorus following a chemical spill in Cornubia, in KwaZulu-Natal, in July.

United Phosphorus was storing chemicals in a warehouse, which was damaged and set alight during the July unrest. Chemicals from the warehouse are believed to have spilled into the environment when the fire department was working to extinguish the fire.

There have been calls from various organisations for the company to provide the public with details of the types and quantities of chemicals stored in the warehouse at the time of the incident.

An investigation by amaBhungane has uncovered that the warehouse was allegedly used to store hundreds of chemicals with known adverse health effects.

The fires caused many of the toxic chemicals to disperse into surrounding communities, with many people reporting symptoms as a result of exposure, states Greenpeace Africa.

Greenpeace Africa volunteer Desiree Laverne bemoans United Phosphorous’ “secrecy”.

She added that, after the fires, many people reported the stench of chemicals in the air.

“I felt like my chest was going to explode. There was nothing we could do to avoid breathing the chemicals in and suffering the effects. We even shut all the doors and windows and wore double masks inside."

Greenpeace says in an August 18 statement that the amaBhungane investigation has since revealed that the warehouse did not follow any procedures to assess the safety and possible risks of storing the chemicals.

Greenpeace Africa volunteers are urging members of the public to sign the petition, which demands that United Phosphorus is held accountable.

“Their lack of transparency and failure to obtain environmental permits or formal risk assessments have had dire consequences for the health of surrounding communities, as well as the local environment,” Greenpeace states.