Mine dust from a mine dump just off Hebbard Street is becoming more than just an irritation for residents and businesses in the area.
One resident, Stanley Weimers who lives in Sixth Avenue says the problem is becoming impossible to deal with.
“When the wind blows in a northerly direction everything gets covered in the fine yellow dust – to such an extent that it builds up residue in the most impossible places. Closing doors and windows does not help either,” says Weimers.
“You can sweep and sweep the stoep but it does not help. The only thing that works is to hose it down,” he says.
Weimers adds that it becomes problematic to remove the dust from vehicles since the dust from the mine dump contains acid and when it comes in contact with water, it damages the paintwork on the vehicle.
The record spoke to various businesses in the area who also complained about the dust coming from the mine dump.
There were no contact details at the site nor a site manager when the record visited. It seems the mine dump is being sourced for building material.
According to DA Councillor Dave Dewes “this activity is most definitely illegal. It has a serious environmental impact and sadly this has happened before. I will ensure that it is investigated and the culprits are brought to book and will insist that the Department of Minerals and Energy are more pro-active in monitoring disused dumps in my area. I just thank the residents for bring this to my attention.
Henry Bentley from the Department of Environmental Health says mine dumps fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Minerals Resources and in order for an entity to conduct activities at such a site, a permit must be obtained and only after the Department of Environmental affairs have done an environmental impact study. All such activities are also subject to certain conditions.
The Department of Mineral Resources could not be reached for comment by the time of going to press.
