AIR QUALITY IMPACTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO LARGE STATIONARY SOURCE EMISSIONS IN AND AROUND SOUTH AFRICA’S MPUMALANGA HIGHVELD PRIORITY AREA (HPA)

The report finds that 14 industrial facilities in South Africa's Mpumalanga Highveld Priority Area (HPA) caused between 305 and 650 early deaths in 2016 due to PM2.5 pollution. The most significant contributors were the Lethabo, Kendal, and Kriel power stations. Modeling indicates that compliance with the 2020 Minimum Emission Standards (MES) would reduce these annual early deaths by 60%, preventing between 182 and 388 deaths. The report also highlights severe exceedances of World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for SO2 and NO2, particularly at sensitive sites like schools and hospitals. In 2016, these 14 facilities accounted for up to 92% of the daily ambient SO2 limit, suggesting that national air quality standards cannot be met without reducing emissions from these specific sources.

• Ambient PM2.5 pollution from 14 industrial facilities caused between 305 and 650 early deaths in the Mpumalanga Highveld Priority Area (HPA) in 2016. The facilities with the highest impact were Lethabo power station (57 to 122 deaths), Kendal power station (46 to 99 deaths), and Kriel power station (34 to 76 deaths).
• Compliance with the 2020 Minimum Emission Standards (MES) would reduce early deaths by 60%, preventing between 182 and 388 deaths annually in and around the HPA.
• In 2016, cumulative emissions from the 14 facilities led to acute exposures that exceeded WHO guidelines for all pollutants. The highest 24-hour average exposure of PM2.5 was 45 µg/m3 (nearly double the WHO guideline of 25 µg/m3), the highest 24-hour average SO2 was 241.4 µg/m3 (over 1200% of the WHO standard), and the highest one-hour average NO2 was 2020 µg/m3 (over 1000% of the WHO standard).
• All 120 analyzed sensitive sites, primarily schools and hospitals, exceeded the WHO 24-hour average SO2 guideline of 20 µg/m3 in 2016. The maximum concentration was 178 µg/m3 at Duvha Primary School. Implementing the 2020 MES would bring SO2 exposures at 93% of these sites within the WHO guideline.
• The 14 facilities are the primary contributors to air pollution relative to national limits. In 2016, they accounted for 92% of the daily ambient SO2 limit, 85% of the hourly ambient SO2 limit, 82% of the hourly ambient NO2 limit, and 68% of the daily ambient PM2.5 limit.
• The 14 sources are responsible for substantial PM2.5 exposures across at least 30% of the modeled area. Compliance with the 2020 MES would completely eliminate the area exposed to relatively high concentrations of PM2.5, benefiting populations in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

APA

Gray, H. A. (2019). AIR QUALITY IMPACTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO LARGE STATIONARY SOURCE EMISSIONS IN AND AROUND SOUTH AFRICA’S MPUMALANGA HIGHVELD PRIORITY AREA (HPA). Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Andy-Gray-Report.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Gray, H. Andrew. AIR QUALITY IMPACTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO LARGE STATIONARY SOURCE EMISSIONS IN AND AROUND SOUTH AFRICA’S MPUMALANGA HIGHVELD PRIORITY AREA (HPA). Centre for Environmental Rights, 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Andy-Gray-Report.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gray |first1=H. Andrew |title=AIR QUALITY IMPACTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO LARGE STATIONARY SOURCE EMISSIONS IN AND AROUND SOUTH AFRICA’S MPUMALANGA HIGHVELD PRIORITY AREA (HPA) |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=3 June 2019 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Andy-Gray-Report.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gray2019air, author = {Gray, H. Andrew}, title = {{AIR QUALITY IMPACTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO LARGE STATIONARY SOURCE EMISSIONS IN AND AROUND SOUTH AFRICA’S MPUMALANGA HIGHVELD PRIORITY AREA (HPA)}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2019}, month = jun, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Andy-Gray-Report.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }