Heather Park residents' health complaints persist

A group of Heather Park residents remain concerned about air pollution in the neighbourhood, even though the results of official air quality tests recently conducted have shown that the pollutants are within legal limits.

- Alida de Beer

One resident, Anthony Breakey, says health complaints among residents are persisting, and he expressed his hope that more can be done to relieve the situation. He said they would keep pursuing the matter.

Dr Johann Schoeman, district manager for air quality control at the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM), met with a group of the complainants earlier this month to discuss the test results. During the engagement, the residents remained adamant that certain health issues such as allergies and breathing problems, as well as odours of sulphur or bitumen, remain unresolved.

Air quality tests are also under way at the Much Asphalt plant in Witfontein. Schoeman said although pollution levels are within legal limits, there were a few spikes in emissions that could be correlated to plant startup, but this was permissible during normal operating hours.