The furnace in the industrial area that has been a constant source of irritation to neighbours for at least two years, sending black smoke into the air.
GEORGE NEWS - People working in the industrial area of George have been sent from pillar to post trying to establish which government or municipal department is responsible for the control of smoke pollution.
Clint Fife of F&A Air-conditioning and Refrigeration, an adjoining neighbour of Cape Gold Furniture Manufacturers on whose premises there is an annoying furnace that allegedly smokes excessively, has - in a letter to the George Herald last week - again raised the problem of "the continuous smoke which is pumped out into the atmosphere from the wood drying plant in Ring Road/Rand Street, George Industria. This oven has been a problem for a number of years now and even enjoyed a write-up in the George Herald a few years back".
Fife says that people in the area are continuously faced with plumes of black and white smoke billowing out of the smokestack. "Depending on the wind direction, we are engulfed by smoke. The smoke causes discomfort to our eyes, sinuses and lungs and the smell is unbearable as any type of wood is fed into the furnace."
The precursor to the current state of affairs is that in 2007, the Government took a decision that certain of the Municipal Health Department's functions became a provincial competency under the auspices of the Eden District Municipality. This move has played havoc with the public as they are directed from one local authority health department to another, trying to ascertain which section of the Health Department's work is under which authority.
Clint says they have called on the Health Department in George for assistance. "To date, no one has taken this problem seriously. Perhaps if they worked under these circumstances we would have seen some sort of urgency."
An independent engineer who works with furnaces said that the possible cause of the dark smoke can be any of a number of things. "An insufficient supply of oxygen to the furnace will result in the fire not burning all the fuel supplied and the balance becomes smoke. When too much wood is fed into the furnace at one time, the resultant shortage of oxygen can cause excessive smoke. The use of a large percentage of wet wood causes poor combustion that also leads to excessive smoke. A questionably designed oven with a short smokestack will also result in excessive smoke."
A further complication in dealing with smoke is that the current legislation known as APPA (Air Pollution Prevention Act 45 of 1965), is being replaced by the new Air Quality Act 39 of 2004. Certain sections are applicable and other sections are still being phased in.
Residents living near the George Station have however said that there has been a marked improvement with the large smokestack in that section of the industrial area. These days, the heavy, dark smoke only seems to be applicable for a minute or two at odd times of the day. This is in accordance with Section 15 (1)(a) of APPA which states: "Provided that in applying the provisions of this paragraph due allowance shall be made for the unavoidable emission of dark smoke or smoke of a colour darker than may be so prescribed during the starting up of the said appliance or during the period of any breakdown or disturbance of such appliance".
Business people in Ring Street say the situation begs the question: "If the authorities can sort out the problems at one site, what seems to be the problem at the other?"
The owner of Cape Gold Furniture Manufacturers, Fanie van der Klashorsd said that he has done everything in his power to try and satisfy his neighbour. "There are other furnaces in the industrial area and some use the same type of furnace for their drying ovens that my company uses. These furnaces are professionally built by a reputable national company that has been in business for many years."
Van der Klashorsd claimed that the Eden Health Department monitors the furnace on a regular basis and that only natural raw wood is fed into the furnace.
"There is no treated wood on the premises." He says the furnace is supervised 24 hours per day and that he is willing to take part in a group discussion on the matter as his is not the only furnace that smokes.
Johann Schoeman of the Eden District Municipality said that this is a matter for the George Municipality. An official at the George Municipal Environmental Department confirmed that they had visited the premises to do an inspection early last week. The official said that the by-law requiring a permit to operate a small furnace was adop-ted by Council in April this year, but that Cape Gold could not present her with a permit when asked to do so. She says that if necessary, steps will be taken to ensure that the correct procedure is followed in obtaining the permit.
- George Herald
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