REQUEST FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO PARTICIPATE AS A STAKEHOLDER IN THE HIGHVELD PRIORITY AREA MULTI-STAKEHOLDER REFERENCE GROUP MEETINGS

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) and groundWork are urging the South African Department of Health to join the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) Multi-Stakeholder Reference Group (MSRG). They argue that the Department of Health's involvement is critical given the severe health burden caused by air pollution in the HPA, particularly from Eskom's coal-fired power stations. The document cites data suggesting thousands of premature deaths and significant IQ loss due to mercury emissions, as well as the economic costs of these health impacts, to justify the need for health officials to collaborate on air quality solutions.

• Air quality in the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) remains extremely poor despite its 2007 declaration, with Eskom's twelve coal-fired power stations identified as the primary contributors to pollution.
• Eskom applied for and was largely granted postponements from the minimum emissions standards (MES) for 14 of its coal-fired power stations in December 2013, resulting in continued violations of the Constitutional right to a healthy environment.
• An assessment by Lauri Myllyvirta estimates that emissions from Eskom's coal-fired power plants cause between 2,200 and 2,700 premature deaths annually, including 200 children, and result in a loss of 45,000 IQ points per year due to mercury.
• The projected long-term health impacts of Eskom's emissions reduction plan include approximately 20,000 premature deaths (including 16,000 children) and a loss of 280,000 IQ points, with an estimated economic cost of at least R220-billion.
• Research indicates that in the Mpumalanga Highveld, cardiovascular diseases attributed to outdoor pollution contribute to a decline in life expectancy; reducing PM2.5 levels to WHO standards could save an estimated 14 to 33 lives.
• Eskom's own 2006 health impact reports found that eight of its power stations were cumulatively responsible for 47 deaths and 661 respiratory hospital admissions per year.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2016). REQUEST FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO PARTICIPATE AS A STAKEHOLDER IN THE HIGHVELD PRIORITY AREA MULTI-STAKEHOLDER REFERENCE GROUP MEETINGS. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Annexure-B-1.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. REQUEST FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO PARTICIPATE AS A STAKEHOLDER IN THE HIGHVELD PRIORITY AREA MULTI-STAKEHOLDER REFERENCE GROUP MEETINGS. 2016. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Annexure-B-1.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=REQUEST FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO PARTICIPATE AS A STAKEHOLDER IN THE HIGHVELD PRIORITY AREA MULTI-STAKEHOLDER REFERENCE GROUP MEETINGS |date=8 September 2016 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Annexure-B-1.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2016request, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{REQUEST FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO PARTICIPATE AS A STAKEHOLDER IN THE HIGHVELD PRIORITY AREA MULTI-STAKEHOLDER REFERENCE GROUP MEETINGS}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2016}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Annexure-B-1.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }