Introduction

Cleaner Fires Campaign:

South Africa faces the challenge of addressing a range of persistent air pollution problems. High ambient sulphur dioxide and fine particulate concentrations due primarily to fuel burning within the household, industrial and power generation sectors represent persistent air pollution challenges in many areas. Human health impacts related to household coal and wood burning remains the most serious and pressing national air pollution problem.

Significant quantities of coal and wood continue to be used as a fuel in many households, especially in dense, low-income communities and this represents a major cause for concern with regard to air pollution and health risk potentials. Coal is relatively inexpensive and is easily accessible on the highveld due to the proximity of the region to coal mines and the well-developed local coal merchant industry.

Coal burning emits a large amount of gaseous and particulate pollutants including sulphur dioxide (SO2), heavy metals, total and respirable particulates (particulate matter that is less than 10 microns in size - PM10) including heavy metals and inorganic ash, carbon monoxide (CO), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and benzo(a)pyrene. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are recognised as carcinogens.
Pollutants arising due to the combustion of wood include respirable particulates (PM10), nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, particulate benzo(a)pyrene and formaldehyde. Particulate emissions from wood burning within South Africa have been found to contain about 50% elemental carbon and about 50% condensed hydrocarbons.

Emissions from household fuel burning are significant (as illustrated by the example in Figure 7), not only as a contributor to ambient air pollutant concentrations, but also due to their potential for resulting in high indoor air pollutant concentrations. Such indoor pollution has been associated with significant health impacts.
Even though many people living in dense, low-income communities know and acknowledge that the burning of coal or wood may have a negative impact on their health and well-being, they continue to burn these “dirty” fuels. The reason for this is simply one of poverty and survival – these fuels are the only affordable options to stave off starvation and hypothermia. As pointed out above, even when households have access to electricity, many still use coal and wood for the energy intensive applications of cooking and heating because they simply cannot afford the cost of electricity for these applications. Thus, fundamentally, the issue of air pollution and associated health impacts from coal and wood burning in dense, low-income communities is a symptom of poverty – people simply cannot afford cleaner alternatives to coal or wood.

The typical low-cost, or RDP, house has no insulation whatsoever – not even a ceiling. As a result, these houses are often swelteringly hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter. Thus, excessive amounts of energy must be used to warm these houses in winter.

Previous studies in South Africa have established a strong significant relationship between air pollution indicators and deteriorated human health. Such health conditions include acute and chronic respiratory health (Mzileni et al, 1999; Terblanche et al, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998). Other studies associate air pollution impacts with low birth weights, learning difficulties, immunological and haematological conditions, as well as lung dysfunctions (Sanyal and Maduna, 1996; Mathee et al, 2000; Von Schirnding et al, 1993; Coetzee et al, 1986).

Industry is often the magnet for the development of dense, low-income communities and, in many instances, industrial emissions simply add to the cocktail of atmospheric emissions.

Emissions from vehicles have the potential to significantly impact ambient air quality, which in turn has environmental and health impacts. Vehicle emissions have also been recognised to be a major contributor to urban smogs which can contribute to poor visibility. In addition to contribution made from a high population of private vehicles, South Africa has a notoriously old vehicle fleet that is often poorly maintained contributing further to tailpipe emissions in the form of particulates from diesel cars and trucks and gaseous pollutants from petrol-driven vehicles

Detailed problem analysis of air pollution in dense, low-income communities, in summary:

• People living and working in dense, low-income communities where coal and wood is used as a fuel are often exposed to air quality that is harmful to their health and well-being;
• There are dramatic health impacts on the poor – the NEDLAC report of 2004 estimated that the cost to State funded health care associated with the health impact of the use of coal alone as a source of domestic energy as R1.1 billion per year.
• It is estimated that approximately 1 million households in the industrialised areas use in excess of 1 million tons of coal per year as an energy source.
• Acute Lower Respiratory Infections (ALRI), such as pneumonia, account for an estimated 14% of deaths amongst children younger than 5 years old (possibly around 18,000 deaths per year), making it one of the biggest causes of deaths, along with diarrhoeal disease, in young children.
• Elevated PM10 concentrations occur across the country, with exceedances of South African National Standard (SANS) air quality limits and international best practice standards (EC limits) at all sites for which PM10 data are available.
• There are significantly high concentrations of fine particulates within fuel burning residential areas, specifically coal and wood burning areas.
• Health limits are exceeded frequently (20% to 40% of days), with both daily and annual limits being exceeded.
• Sulphur dioxide (SO2) concentrations within domestic coal burning areas are likely to exceed short-term (10-minute, hourly) air quality limits but such exceedances are relatively infrequent with annual averages comprising only 30% of the annual limit given for the protection of human health. SO2 concentrations within wood burning residential areas such as Khayelitsha are within permissible limits.

The matter of air pollution resulting from the use of coal and wood as a domestic fuel source has been of concern to the government for some years. Indeed, as early as 2002 in the development of the problem analysis that informed the Air Quality Act - “air quality in dense, low-income communities” was specifically described as a key problem area.

In comparison to the more obvious, industrial sources of atmospheric emissions, the burning of coal and wood in dense, low-income, communities is unique in that

• The “victim” of the pollution is, in most cases, also the polluter; and
• In conflict with the “polluter pays” principle contained in NEMA , in this instance the “polluter cannot pay”.

Hence, the traditional “command and control” approach is inappropriate in respect of addressing the problem as this approach would simply “criminalise” the poor – an approach that is morally repugnant and ultimately futile.

Furthermore, effectively addressing the issue potentially involves numerous national departments including, for example:

• Environmental Affairs and Tourism – ambient air quality;
• Health – indoor air quality;
• Minerals and Energy – cleaner fuels;
• Science and technology – cleaner, more efficient, fuel conversion technologies; and
• Housing – better insulation of low cost housing to reduce energy demand.

People burning “dirty fuels” for household heating and cooking is not a desirable situation under any circumstances and the phasing out of the use of these fuels, especially coal, must be seen as the long-term or development objective of the integrated strategy and action plan to address pollution from residential coal and wood burning in dense urban settlements. However, there is no doubt that the use of coal in households will be a practice that is likely to remain with us for some time and, as such, every effort must be made to ensure that the impacts of this practice are reduced during the transition to cleaner fuels. The BnM fire-making methodology is an excellent example of this “transitional” intervention.

DME’s Basa Njengo Magogo (BnM) fire-making methodology
A full description of DME’s Basa Njengo Magogo (BnM) is provided in the prospectus included as Annexure B. In essence, BnM is a method of “top-down” fire-making that:

• costs nothing (in contrast to projects that endeavour to sell products to households on a ‘good-for-you’ basis);
• makes use of existing appliances;
• burns less coal and, therefore, saves fuel;
• ensures that the fire is ready for cooking earlier;
• substantially reduces air pollution; and
• works in all coal burning appliances, including stoves, umbawulas and even in a heap on the ground.
• Make at least 1 million affected people aware of the impacts of pollution from “dirty” fires;
• Make the people aware of the Basa Njengo Magogo fire-making methodology as a “win-win”, no-cost alternative to dirty fires;
• Motivate people, through political commitment, social responsibility or pure self-interest, to change to
  • BnM; and
• Clearly demonstrate how to implement the methodology in their own homes.