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

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) asserts that South Africa's Minimum Emission Standards (MES) for sulphur dioxide (SO2) are already weak compared to other developing nations and should be strictly enforced. The CER disputes claims by Eskom and Sasol that compliance is too expensive, citing expert analysis that suggests Eskom's capital cost estimates for flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) and low NOx burners are significantly inflated. The document highlights that failure to comply with the MES could lead to approximately 16,000 avoidable premature deaths, while doubling the SO2 limit to 1000mg/Nm3 would cause an additional 3,300 premature deaths. It recommends the use of FGD as the best available technology for long-term operation and dry sorbent injection (DSI) only for plants nearing decommissioning.

• South Africa's Minimum Emission Standards (MES) for sulphur dioxide (SO2) are significantly less stringent than those in other developing countries. 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.
• Flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) is identified as the Best Available Technology (BAT) for meeting the new plant SO2 MES effective 1 April 2020, and is used globally for SO2 removal from coal boilers.
• Expert analysis by Dr Ranajit Sahu indicates that Eskom's estimated costs for pollution control are vastly overstated. Specifically, the cost for low NOx burners is estimated to be inflated by a factor of 2 to 8, and FGD capital costs are estimated at just under 30 billion Rand, compared to Eskom's estimate of 140-170 billion Rand.
• Full compliance with the MES could avoid an estimated 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.
• Doubling the new plant SO2 emissions limit from 500mg/Nm3 to 1000mg/Nm3 is estimated to cause 3,300 avoidable premature deaths, with annual excess health impacts peaking at 170 deaths in 2025-26.
• Dry sorbent injection (DSI) is suggested as a viable, low-capital cost alternative for plants to be decommissioned within five years, as it requires no water and can be installed in less than 12 months, though it is not a primary SO2 reduction technology and can increase particulate matter and mercury emissions.

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} }