THE COST OF AVAILABLE POLLUTION ABATEMENT TECHNOLOGIES REQUIRED TO MEET MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS FOR SULPHUR DIOXIDE (SO2)

A statement from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) to the South African Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries arguing against the weakening of Minimum Emission Standards (MES) for sulphur dioxide (SO2) and challenging the cost claims made by Eskom and Sasol regarding pollution abatement technologies.

• The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) asserts that flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) is the Best Available Technology (BAT) for meeting the 'new plant' SO2 Minimum Emission Standards (MES) effective 1 April 2020, a fact they claim is undisputed and confirmed by Sasol.
• South Africa's SO2 MES are described as significantly weaker than those of other developing nations. The existing plant SO2 MES are approximately 17.5 times weaker than China's, nearly 6 times weaker than India's, and over 4.5 times weaker than Indonesia's. The new plant SO2 MES (500mg/Nm3) are more than 14 times weaker than China's and about 5 times weaker than India's.
• A report by Dr Ranajit Sahu argues that Eskom's estimated costs for pollution control are substantially inflated. Sahu estimates the cost of low NOx burners for 19 Eskom plants at around 4.6 billion Rand, compared to Eskom's estimate of 10-40 billion Rand. For FGD, Sahu estimates costs for eight plants at just under 30 billion Rand, whereas Eskom estimated 140-170 billion Rand.
• Dr Ranajit Sahu suggests that for plants scheduled for decommissioning within five years, Eskom should use dry sorbent injection (DSI). DSI uses no water and can remove up to 50% of SO2 with capital costs less than 10% of wet FGD, though it is not a primary SO2 reduction technology and can increase particulate matter (PM) emissions and toxic mercury emissions.
• Lauri Myllyvirta estimates that full compliance with the MES could avoid approximately 16,000 premature deaths (range of 13,000 to 18,000), representing a 40% reduction in the health impact of air pollution from Eskom's power stations.
• The CER opposes the proposal to double the new plant SO2 MES limit to 1000mg/Nm3. Lauri Myllyvirta estimates that this doubling would cause an additional 3,300 premature deaths (range of 3,000 to 3,500), with annual excess health impacts peaking at 170 premature deaths in 2025-26.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2019). THE COST OF AVAILABLE POLLUTION ABATEMENT TECHNOLOGIES REQUIRED TO MEET MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS FOR SULPHUR DIOXIDE (SO2). https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CER-Letter-to-Minister-Creecy-re-Cost-of-MES-Compliance-30.7.2019.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. THE COST OF AVAILABLE POLLUTION ABATEMENT TECHNOLOGIES REQUIRED TO MEET MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS FOR SULPHUR DIOXIDE (SO2). 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CER-Letter-to-Minister-Creecy-re-Cost-of-MES-Compliance-30.7.2019.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=THE COST OF AVAILABLE POLLUTION ABATEMENT TECHNOLOGIES REQUIRED TO MEET MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS FOR SULPHUR DIOXIDE (SO2) |date=30 July 2019 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CER-Letter-to-Minister-Creecy-re-Cost-of-MES-Compliance-30.7.2019.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2019cost, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{THE COST OF AVAILABLE POLLUTION ABATEMENT TECHNOLOGIES REQUIRED TO MEET MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS FOR SULPHUR DIOXIDE (SO2)}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2019}, month = jul, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CER-Letter-to-Minister-Creecy-re-Cost-of-MES-Compliance-30.7.2019.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }