A PLAN by South Africa’s state power utility to circumvent pollution controls at one of its two biggest coal-fired plants to enable it to bolster its generation capacity may lead to hundreds of deaths, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
Eskom Holdings’ application to partially bypass its flue-gas desulfurization unit at the Kusile station for just over a year could see it emit 280,000 extra tons of sulfur dioxide, while mercury emissions would jump 40%, the Helsinki-based pollution research nonprofit said in a report sent to Bloomberg News.
It estimates that about 680 people could die as a result.
“The deaths are attributed to increased risk of stroke, ischemic heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lower respiratory disease,” CREA said.
Eskom, which the group previously named as the world’s biggest sulfur-dioxide emitter, runs 14 coal-fired plants, most of which are to the east of Johannesburg.
A chimney collapsed at Kusile
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