Chronicle EditorMichael Magoronga, [email protected]
REDCLIFF-based Livetouch Investments, the producer of Diamond Cement has made significant strides in reducing dust emissions and improve air quality as required by the World Health Organisation.
Located a stone’s throw away from a residential area, Stone Claire, the company has been accused of emitting dust, which affected residents of the new suburb.
In April this year, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) visited the plant where they carried out assessments following complaints of deteriorating air quality due to dust emissions from the company.
In turn, the company submitted an action plan, which consisted of long-term plans and short-term actions for quick alleviation of the dust from unpaved surfaces, dust from openings at the cement plant and from the unpaved access road.
On Wednesday, a Kwekwe District Civil Protection Unit delegation toured the company to assess progress on the proposed mitigation measures and expressed satisfaction on progress made so far.
EMA District Officer, Mr Daniel Magombedze, said although the company had tried to comply with the directives, more needed to be done.
“The plant has three main sources of dust emissions, which are the bowl mill, the drier and the packing bay, which all have chimneys,” he said.
“We identified the major sources of pollution and they submitted an action plan, which included planting trees as a long-term solution, which they have done,” he said.
Mr Magombedze said Livetouch has also moved the slag from a place near the residential area to the plant, which was a major source of dust emissions.
“They have also since dismantled a conveyor belt, which ferried slag from the original source and this was one of the major sources of dust emissions. We also agreed that they should not use the old drying method of the slag and they have since removed the drier and we urge them to use a highly mechanized method, which does not emit much,” he said.
Mr Magombedze said although the company had made significant strides, there is still more to be done to eradicate dust emissions permanently.
“Admittedly, something has been done but of course, not to our satisfaction. There is still the issue of surfacing of pavements using concrete, which is still outstanding. Currently they used quarry stone, which is not effective as it needs to be consistently replaced.
“They should continue with concrete surfacing to eliminate the problem once and for all,” he said.
“We have seen the company replacing filter beds but drive ways are still to be attended to. These should be attended to and this can go a long way in reducing the dust emissions.”
He said they will continue monitoring the situation and carrying out necessary tests so that residents are not affected. A representative of the residents, Mr Sithole Mahlupi, said although the developer did not tell them about the plant, they were happy with the interventions made so far.
“When we bought these stands, the developer did not tell us about the hazards, which lie ahead. We are, however, very happy with the timely interventions being made by the company,” said Mr Mahlupi.
“They have since dismantled some of their machinery, which did not only produce dust but also made serious noise. We are very grateful to the company and hope to continue working together.”
Livetouch spokesperson, Mr George Makonese said the company will continue working hard to create a conducive and safe environment.
“We have since moved the slag from the areas, which affected the residents and we will continue to make other interventions. Unfortunately at times we suffer from water shortages since we don’t have council water but we try to do water spraying at least three times a day,” he said.
“We will continue planting trees as a long term solution and also the paving of roads, especially the one used by trucks so that there is no dust that is raised.”
Livetouch submitted their Environmental Impact Assessment in 2016 and EMA raised the dust issues but they were given the nod after submitting migratory measures.
Stone Claire would later submit theirs in 2018 and the same issue was raised but it was too late to stop construction of houses since some had since developed and also the company had started construction of its plant.
Online Reporter