EXPERT ANALYSIS OF THE AIR QUALITY IMPACTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO THE EMISSIONS FROM ESKOM’S KENDAL POWER STATION

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) submitted a statement to the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries on 28 April 2020, providing expert analysis of air quality and health impacts resulting from emissions at Eskom's Kendal power station. The document presents findings from two expert reports by Dr Ron Sahu and Dr Andrew Gray, highlighting significant exceedances of particulate matter (PM) limits and associated premature deaths and health risks in the Highveld Priority Area.

• Between April 2016 and March 2020, Kendal power station recorded 2,712 instances where average daily particulate matter (PM) emissions exceeded the atmospheric emission licence (AEL) limit of 100 mg/Nm3. The frequency of these exceedances increased threefold starting in April 2018, with January 2020 recording the highest monthly total at 151 exceedances.
• The severity of PM exceedances was high: in 2019, 83% of exceedances were double the PM limit, 35% were four times the limit, and 10% were 12 times the limit. In 2018, 2% of exceedances reached 25 times the PM limit. In March 2020, despite Unit 5 being shut down, remaining units exceeded the limit 88 times, with Unit 6 emitting PM at 10 times the limit (over 1000 mg/Nm3) on 24% of operating days.
• Analysis indicates that electrostatic precipitators across all units at Kendal power station are malfunctioning, even after purported maintenance. Dr Ron Sahu recommends either shutting down the station or rapidly retrofitting all units with fabric filters to meet AEL limits and World Bank recommended limits of 25 mg/Nm3 for large power plants in degraded airsheds.
• Emissions from Kendal power station were linked to significant premature mortality in and around the Highveld Priority Area, causing between 67 and 144 early deaths in 2018 and between 61 and 130 early deaths between November 2018 and October 2019.
• In 2018, the power station caused Sulphur dioxide (SO2) 10-minute average levels to exceed the World Health Organisation (WHO) maximum by over four times at Hlanga Phala primary school and over two times in the township of Ogies. Daily average SO2 levels in Ogies and Phola were over five times the WHO maximum.
• Other air quality impacts include PM2.5 daily average levels reaching half of the WHO maximum at Laerskool Panorama, Leandra, Ogies, and Phola in 2018. In 2019, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) 1-hour average levels reached two times the WHO maximum at Ogies and Phola, and more than half the maximum at 21 sensitive receptor locations, including Witbank, Secunda, Delmas, and Kinross.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2020). EXPERT ANALYSIS OF THE AIR QUALITY IMPACTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO THE EMISSIONS FROM ESKOM’S KENDAL POWER STATION. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/CER-letter-to-Minister-Creecy-re-health-impacts-due-to-Kendal-power-station-emissions_28-April-2020.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. EXPERT ANALYSIS OF THE AIR QUALITY IMPACTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO THE EMISSIONS FROM ESKOM’S KENDAL POWER STATION. 2020. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/CER-letter-to-Minister-Creecy-re-health-impacts-due-to-Kendal-power-station-emissions_28-April-2020.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=EXPERT ANALYSIS OF THE AIR QUALITY IMPACTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO THE EMISSIONS FROM ESKOM’S KENDAL POWER STATION |date=28 April 2020 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/CER-letter-to-Minister-Creecy-re-health-impacts-due-to-Kendal-power-station-emissions_28-April-2020.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2020expert, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{EXPERT ANALYSIS OF THE AIR QUALITY IMPACTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO THE EMISSIONS FROM ESKOM’S KENDAL POWER STATION}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/CER-letter-to-Minister-Creecy-re-health-impacts-due-to-Kendal-power-station-emissions_28-April-2020.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }