FOLLOW UP TO REQUEST FOR REVIEW AND STRENGTHENING OF THE NATIONAL DUST CONTROL REGULATIONS

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) wrote to the Minister of Environmental Affairs on 25 October 2016 to follow up on a request to strengthen the National Dust Control Regulations. The CER expresses concern over the Department of Environmental Affairs' narrow focus on monitoring methods rather than health impacts, and objects to a proposal to increase the allowable dust limit for residential areas.

• The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) and its clients requested that the National Dust Control Regulations be amended to adopt a more proactive and cautionary approach to managing dust and fugitive emissions, particularly those originating from mining activities.
• The CER criticized a joint seminar held on 5 August 2016 by the Department of Environmental Affairs and the National Association for Clean Air (NACA) for its narrow focus on 'dustfall' monitoring methods and its failure to address the broader health and environmental problems caused by fugitive dust emissions.
• The CER disputes claims made during the August 2016 seminar that fugitive dust emissions are merely a 'nuisance' and not a health issue, asserting that dust from mining operations is often contaminated with toxic substances such as arsenic and radioactive materials.
• A 2009 report by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) found that gold mine residues in Gauteng Province, often located near residential areas, contain high concentrations of uranium (0 to 1175mg/kg) and arsenic (1 to 1348mg/kg).
• The CER objects to a proposal to increase the 30-day average dust limit for residential areas from 600mg/m2 to 1200mg/m2. This proposal followed a recommendation to add windshields to dust buckets to improve accuracy, but the CER argues that doubling the limit is regressive and fails to protect human health.
• The CER argues that the current 30-day monitoring average is inadequate because it masks high-concentration emission episodes, making it difficult to challenge non-compliance despite community complaints.
• The CER recommends reviewing subcategory 5.1 of the AQA s21 Listed Activities regarding the storage and handling of ore and coal to explicitly include gold mine tailings re-mining operations and to clarify the scope of solids storage structures.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2016). FOLLOW UP TO REQUEST FOR REVIEW AND STRENGTHENING OF THE NATIONAL DUST CONTROL REGULATIONS. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/161025-CER-letter-to-Minister.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. FOLLOW UP TO REQUEST FOR REVIEW AND STRENGTHENING OF THE NATIONAL DUST CONTROL REGULATIONS. 2016. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/161025-CER-letter-to-Minister.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=FOLLOW UP TO REQUEST FOR REVIEW AND STRENGTHENING OF THE NATIONAL DUST CONTROL REGULATIONS |date=25 October 2016 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/161025-CER-letter-to-Minister.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2016follow, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{FOLLOW UP TO REQUEST FOR REVIEW AND STRENGTHENING OF THE NATIONAL DUST CONTROL REGULATIONS}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2016}, month = oct, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/161025-CER-letter-to-Minister.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }