Informal settlement residents suffer after July riots chemical spill

A Blackburn Village resident in KwaZulu-Natal has told the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) how his community is suffering after chemicals at a warehouse that caught on fire were spilt into a river and polluted the air.

Kwanele Msizazwe was giving evidence at the SAHRC hearings into the July riots that swept through KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

“On July 12, when there was unrest, we saw a cloud of smoke and were confused as to what was happening,” said Msizazwe.

“In the morning, we saw it was the [UPL Cornubia] warehouse that had caught fire. I was on my way to work. When I came back from work, there was a terrible smell.”

He said the informal settlement known as Blackburn Village was about 1km from the warehouse.

“After three days, we saw the water changing colour. Municipal representatives came and warned us to not use the water from the river because it was contaminated.”

A week later, the representatives returned to Blackburn Village to find out how residents were coping.

“I told them I would be happy if I could see medical experts to test the community because we rely on public health facilities. We use a mobile clinic which comes only once a week. If you have a critical condition, you get referred to the hospital,” Msizazwe told the commission.

He said months had passed without a word from the municipality about their situation. The community was later asked to fill in forms by the company that owned the warehouse.

Msizazwe said since the incident, community members had complained about being ill. He said some people were suffering from burning eyes, chest problems and blocked noses.

“We don’t know where to go. We were told we would get immediate help.”

He maintained that about 80% of the Blackburn community was not involved in the looting but added, “I cannot say no-one went to loot.”

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