2010-morgan_q773_july-4-response_from_sonjica_on_st_helena_air_quality-66ff03f833328f57.pdf

This document is a formal response from the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to Member of Parliament G. Morgan regarding air quality and hydrogen sulphide levels in St Helena Bay. The response addresses concerns about the health impacts of emissions from the fish processing industry, arguing that perceived odours likely indicate low concentrations of the gas.

• Hydrogen sulphide is unstable in the atmosphere, remaining for an average of 18 hours while undergoing oxidation reactions that produce sulphur dioxide, sulphuric acid, or elemental sulphur. These products are eventually removed from the atmosphere via precipitation, deposition on and absorption by soils, or absorption by plants.
• Research from IPCS INCHEM indicates that hydrogen sulphide concentrations decrease as distance from the industrial source increases, dropping by a factor of 2 within a 2.5 kilometre radius and further decreasing by 30% to a factor of 8 between 2.5 km and 20 km.
• The presence of an odour in St Helena Bay is interpreted as an indicator of low hydrogen sulphide concentrations, as the odour threshold (0.0005--0.3 ppm) is significantly lower than the lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) of 2.8 mg/ms. High concentrations (approximately 150 ppm) would instead cause paralysis of the olfactory nerve, leading to a loss of smell.
• The Minister states there is no evidence that the St Helena Bay community is exposed to high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide from the fish processing industry, and suggests the smell may result from the bacterial breakdown of organic matter during fish meal production.
• The document rejects a comparison between hydrogen sulphide exposure in St Helena Bay and asbestos exposure in Prieska, noting that asbestos is a carcinogen with no minimum risk level (MRL), whereas hydrogen sulphide is not.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). 2010-morgan_q773_july-4-response_from_sonjica_on_st_helena_air_quality-66ff03f833328f57.pdf. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/2010-Morgan_Q773_July-4-response_from_Sonjica_on_St_Helena_Air_Quality.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. 2010-morgan_q773_july-4-response_from_sonjica_on_st_helena_air_quality-66ff03f833328f57.pdf. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/2010-Morgan_Q773_July-4-response_from_Sonjica_on_St_Helena_Air_Quality.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=2010-morgan_q773_july-4-response_from_sonjica_on_st_helena_air_quality-66ff03f833328f57.pdf |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/2010-Morgan_Q773_July-4-response_from_Sonjica_on_St_Helena_Air_Quality.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrightsnd2010morganq773july4responsefromsonjicaonsthelenaairquality66ff03f833328f57pdf, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{2010-morgan\_q773\_july-4-response\_from\_sonjica\_on\_st\_helena\_air\_quality-66ff03f833328f57.pdf}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/2010-Morgan_Q773_July-4-response_from_Sonjica_on_St_Helena_Air_Quality.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }