Community-based
Air Quality Monitoring Workshop
13 February 2002
Executive Summary
Air pollution monitoring is
a neglected area in Swaziland. Yonge Nawe Environmental Action Group sought
to pioneer work on air pollution monitoring mainly targeted at communities
living within industrial sites. Yonge Nawe hosted a one-day workshop, which
brought together representatives from Communities, Workers Associations,
local authorities, and NGOs on the 13th of February at the Foresters Arms
Hotel.
Participants welcomed the "Bucket
Brigade," a simple method of taking air samples. This basic device uses
an ordinary bucket equipped with an air bag, a pipe and a pump. Air samples
are sent to a laboratory for testing levels of air pollution. The "Bucket
Brigade" will enable communities to challenge and work with government
and industry to improve air quality in their neighbourhoods. Yonge Nawe
facilitated the workshop with assistance from its partners, Ardiel Soeker
from groundWork (South Africa) and Denny Larson from the Global Community
Monitor (USA).
Representatives mapped out
industrial activities and highlighted sources of pollution, different odours
emitted from these as well as common health problems within their neigbourhoods.
Some of the diseases mentioned include asthma, chest pains and hair loss.
Participants were excited as they took turns to practice using the "Bucket
Brigade" system. A practical demonstration was done the following day at
Luhleko community within the Sappi Usuthu Pulp mill. A sample was shipped
to the United States and results are expected within two weeks, which shall
inform the relevant communities of the pollution levels of the air they
are breathing.
Air pollution monitoring is
part of Yonge Nawe’s Environmental Justice Campaign Programme, which seeks
to ensure that social justice is achieved and communities are not victims
of pollution and environmental injustices. In this campaign Yonge Nawe
is networking with, groundWork, the South Durban Community Environmental
Alliance (SDECA), GCM, the South Africa Exchange programme on Environmental
Justice and Livaningo, a Mozambique based NGO.
INTRODUCTION
Overall Objective
The overall objective of the
workshop was to increase the awareness and knowledge of Yonge Nawe staff
and other stakeholders on air quality monitoring and testing.
Specific Objectives
The specific objectives of
the workshop were:
-
To share information and knowledge
on Air Quality issues in Swaziland
-
To discuss possible health and
social economic effects of poor air quality on communities
-
To demonstrate community based
air quality monitoring through the use of a "bucket"
-
To identify immediate air pollution
sites in the country.
Anticipated outputs:
-
Increased awareness of the "bucket
brigade" and air quality in Swaziland
-
Pollution sites identified
-
Demonstration of the "bucket"
system
-
Links between the health of communities
and that of pollution "hot spots" identified.
OPENING AND WELCOME REMARKS
The workshop was opened Mr.
Simanga Ntando at 0915. He welcomed participants and thanked them for attending
the workshop.
Mr. Ardiel Soeker (Air Quality
Co-ordinator, groundwork) and Mr. Denny Larson (Global Community Monitor)
who were the core facilitators introduced themselves and also welcomed
participants to the workshop.
Participants were given the
opportunity to introduce themselves and the organizations they were representing.
In their introductions participants mentioned their expectations from the
workshop.
B. PARTICIPANTS EXPECTATIONS
Participants highlighted the
following as their key expectations from the workshop:
-
Awareness of air quality issues
-
Access to information
-
Pollution control
-
Tools for air quality monitoring
Mr. Soeker told the participants
that the workshop is participatory, goal orientated, flexible and also
would be using audio visual aids.
C. AUDIO VISUAL AIDS
The participants watched a
video entitled "Fenceline". This video depicts air pollution problems in
the USA. The communities in and around these pollution hot spots were mobilized
and had began to challenge industries on air pollution. The participants
also had the opportunity to watch a video on the Bucket brigade in action
in South Durban. In this video, Mr. Denny Larson and Mr. Bobby Peak, groundWork
Director were challenging chemical industries to clean up their act on
air pollution incidences.
D. GROUP DISCUSSION
The participants were divided
into the following three groups, Bhunya, Big Bend and Hlatikulu/Nhlangano.
In these groups participants
identified the following:
-
Pollution source i.e. type of
industry, products, size/number of jobs and past engagements.
-
The geography of the area.
-
The health complaints linked to
pollution
GROUP PRESENTATIONS
The Bhunya group identified:
Sappi Usutu as the key air
polluter
Sulfur Dioxide is the main
polluting chemical
Sappi Usutu is located in
a valley, which makes it harder for the residents of Bhunya to breathe
cleaner air.
The health complaints were
asthma, bronchitis and loss of hair.
The Big Bend group identified:
USA distillery and the Sugar
mill as the key air polluter
Sulfur Dioxide is the main
polluting chemical
The Nhlangano/Hlatikhulu
group identified:
The textile industry as the
seen to be the main polluter
E. Presentation by Mr. Denny
Larson
Denny Larson then gave a presentation
on:
-
What pollution is?
-
Types of pollution
-
The sources of pollution
during production. He also talked about upset emissions. Upset emissions
are when something goes wrong within the production cycle. This causes
harmful gases to be emitted into the air.
-
Denny also talked about air quality
monitoring systems. He highlighted the need to keep Logbooks for community
air pollution monitoring. The Logbook is an important tool as it enables
one to document the date, time, the smell and how they feel about the smell
from the air pollution they are breathing. Collected over time, logbooks
become important documents as they contain evidence of reoccurring problems
and their effect on the health of the community.
-
There is need to conduct door-to-door
research on the effects of air quality and human health said Denny.
F. Tools for Air Quality Monitoring
Participants were introduced
to some of the tools used for air quality monitoring. These include among
others:
-
Eyes, Ears, Nose
-
Odour Index
-
Health Index
-
Wind direction and speed
G. Sample Steps(After a sample
is taken by the "bucket")
Participants were also introduced
to steps they would follow when taking air samples and shipping of the
samples for testing. The steps include the following:
-
Shipping
-
Paperwork " Chain of custody"
to record exact location of pl ace, time and remarks on pollution incidences.
-
Laboratory to run the tests of
air sample
-
Analysis of laboratory
-
Communication of results to various
stakeholders
-
Action in the form of campaigns
and letters.
H. Formation of a Monitoring
Committee
Participants were told about
the importance of setting up monitoring committees. Yonge Nawe would be
coordinating the formulation and implementation of activities by these
committees. The monitoring committees would be responsible for:
-
Recording and keeping logbooks
-
Record air samples
-
Implement all bucket brigade activities
-
Communicate results on air samples
-
Community responses to air pollution
-
Take action on polluters
Closing
The facilitators thanked participants
for their attendance. The workshop ended at 16h00.
DAY TWO
Field Visit and Practical
Demonstartion
Before the field visit and
practical demonstration a reflection on the previous day was undertaken
between, Mr. Ardiel Soeker and Mr. Denny Larson and Yonge Nawe staff.
The team agreed that the workshop yielded positive outcomes. These included
among others:
Communication among participants
and facilitators was open and flexible
-
The workshop had a well-balanced
stakeholder representation
-
It was a very practical and flexible
workshop
-
Representatives could watch audio-visual
material
-
The venue and services were excellent
-
Participants were interested to
demonstrate how the "bucket" works
-
The materials were interesting
and can be used for research purposes
-
The workers representative from
Sappi/Usutu had a very interesting presentation
-
The translation from English to
Siswati for the participants was clear and short
-
Participants followed the programme
and time allocated to them during the group discussions
-
The programme was structured in
such a way that group work could be done
-
The preparation by Yonge
Nawe staff before the workshop was impressive
-
The involvement of all project
staff in workshop preparations
-
The participants want follow up
workshops.
Lessons learnt from the workshop:
The team discussed the following
lessons:
-
The venue needs to be more central
in order to have full representation of participants.
-
We did not have enough time to
brainstorm the way forward at the workshop. This is because we started
late.
-
The participants did not arrive
on time
Which way forward:
The following was agreed as
the way forward:
-
Workshops with other stakeholders
on air quality issues
-
Making the log book fun and interesting
-
Generating more resources on air
quality issues
-
Producing fact sheets in English
and Siswati
-
Linking up with other struggles
locally, regionally and globally
-
Log Books in the polluted areas
-
Workshops with various stakeholders
on air quality monitoring and testing
-
Regional summits and workshops
on air quality testing.
After reflecting on the previous
day, the Yonge Nawe team together with the visiting facilitators went to
meet with some of the participants who had attended the previous day for
a practical demonstration. The practical demonstration was focused on how
one could take an air sample. This was done at Luhleko community within
the Sappi Usuthu Pulp mill. The sample was shipped to the United States
and results were expected within two weeks. The results would inform the
relevant communities of the pollution levels of the air they are breathing.
After the demonstration Ardiel and Denny left for their flights. Yonge
Nawe was given a “bucket” and four air bags to sample other air pollution
sites in Swaziland.
Deliberations ended and participants
departed.
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