Press Release: Thor Chemicals
by Bryan Ashe, Earthlife Africa eThekwini (Durban) Branch
3 August 2004 (Durban) – Earthlife Africa eThekwini welcomes the announcement by the Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi, that the Thor Chemicals cleanup is finally being launched. This follows years of action by Earthlife Africa to stop the company from importing toxic mercury waste for incineration which has had a detrimental effect on both the health of workers at Thor Chemicals and the surrounding environment. Workers have died as result of working in the mercury plant and incinerator at Inchanga (Cato Ridge). Earthlife Africa eThekwini has been concerned that Thor Chemicals would refuse to pay for the clean up but thanks to the Deputy Minister Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi's intervention, the company is now paying R24 million towards the cleanup. This amount however, will only be sufficient to cover the first phase of the project which includes the EIA to determine the cleanup requirements and also to determine the impact and methodology of the proposed disposal of the toxic mercury waste. Earthlife Africa eThekwini calls upon the government to hold the company responsible for the full cost of the total clean up of the site.
"Earthlife Africa eThekwini's position has not changed in this process in that we call for the toxic mercury waste to be sent back to its source in the United States and Great Britain as part of the cleanup", said Bryan Ashe spokesperson for Earthlife Africa eThekwini.
Earthlife Africa eThekwini will be monitoring the EIA and will document this process and the worker's stories as part of our Ecological Debt Campaign together with Jubilee South Africa ,who will be hosting an Ecological Debt Tribunal in 2005.
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