Air quality: Sasol mostly complies

SASOL could seek further postponements in respect of compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards beyond 2025, executive vice-president for operations, Bernard Klingenberg, said yesterday.

In 2004, the government introduced the air quality standards to introduce a new approach to air quality management. Sasol said, while most of its processes would be able to comply with the new standards from April 2015 to April 2020, some standards could not be achieved within the applicable time frames.

The standards define permissible levels of total ambient pollution and are set for pollutants such as sulphur dioxide.

Addressing the media in Johannesburg, Klingenberg said the postponements were an important regulatory mechanism to transition existing plants to new plant standards.

Pollutants

Klingenberg said Sasol was required to apply for a postponement for five years. Prior to 2015, the group applied for postponement with respect to some of the pollutants. He said Sasol complied with the majority of the minimum emission standards for 2015.

“In some areas, we needed time to implement projects. We were given postponements of which some were not for five years, but three years. For those that we were given three years, we have had to go back for subsequent postponements.

“In relation to 2025, there will be requests for postponement applications again, especially in relation to sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide emissions, where today we are transparent that we do not have credible (and) viable solutions, and we need to work on those.

“It could be that in respect of those required by 2025 we will have to ask for another postponement.”

Sasol said it had commissioned independent air pollution impact assessment and the studies confirmed that the company did not cause exceedances of the air quality standards.

Sasol’s shares on the JSE were 0.92 percent lower to close at R392.10 yesterday.