Block 8: Environmental Issues and Public Health - Air Pollution Chapter 10: Overview Of Air Pollution Legal And Regulatory Framework

The APPA (Air Pollution Prevention Act)(Act 45 of 1965):

This act is the main legislation for the control of air pollution from medium to large industries, ‘scheduled industries’ at the national level. Local municipal regulations may be in place to control small pollution sources.

The APPA purports to control air pollution (from industries subject to control) using the legal test of the "best practical means":

Best practicable means, when used with reference to the prevention of the escape of noxious or offensive gases or the dispersal or suspension of dust in the atmosphere or the emission of fumes by vehicles, includes the provision and maintenance of the necessary appliances to that end, the effective care and operation of such appliances, and the adoption of any other methods which, having regard to local conditions and circumstances, the pre-vailing extent of technical knowledge and the cost likely to be involved, may be reasonably practicable and necessary for the protection of any section of the public against the emission of poisonous or noxious gases, dust or any such fumes;

Note that under APPA, the actual or potential health impact of a polluting appliance is not a consideration in the regulation of emissions from the appliance.

Processes that fall under the Second Schedule of the act require a licence or permit to operate that may include conditions aimed at controlling emissions, subject to the ‘best practicable means’ test. These certificates are issued at the discretion of the Chief Air Pollution Control Officer (CAPCO). The schedule of processes includes processes for the manufacture of sulphuric acid, phosphate fertilizer, ‘gas liquor’ processes involving the evolution of hydrogen sulphide in the process, nitric acid, ammonium chloride and ammonium sulphate, hydrochloric acid, waste incinerators, oil refining, etc. A total of about 72 processes are regulated under this act.

The main shortcomings of this act are the absence of a consideration of ambient air quality, especially the health impact of air pollution, the failure to set emission limits for each of the scheduled process, the legal test of "best practical means" rather than "best available technology", the absence of a consideration of cumulative impacts of a number of pollution sources in the same area, and the lack of public scrutiny and access to information in the process of issuing permits.