‘TOXIC DISCHARGE’ SAGA: NPA hits Sasol with fresh warrants, seven years after chemical contamination complaint

A whistleblower's complaint about Sasol's alleged illegal discharge of hazardous chemicals into a South African river seven years ago has finally led to new warrants from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The incident began in 2019 when Ian Erasmus, a former Sasol process controller, reported the unlawful discharge of vanadium, diethanolamine, and potassium carbonate into the Vaal River system.

Despite initial regulatory paralysis, legal maneuvering, and institutional delays, the NPA has now seized electronic and documentary evidence from Sasol's Secunda facility to build a criminal case.

During a parliamentary committee meeting on August 4, 2023, NPA Chief Directorate of Enforcement head Frances Craigie reassured the committee that the timing of the warrants was coincidental, emphasizing the need for evidence admissible in court. The investigation, which has been ongoing since May 2019, is expected to conclude by the end of September.

Since the initial complaint, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) have also been involved in the case, but their investigations have been plagued by delays. The DFFE's criminal investigation did not hand over a docket to the NPA until December 2021, and the SAHRC's investigation stalled due to internal personnel changes and the 2021 civil unrest.

Sasol executives, when questioned by the committee, denied the allegations, arguing that their Secunda facility operates on a closed containment system, preventing any physical pathway for contaminated waste to reach the river. The company also claimed that contemporaneous river samples could not be collected due to the repair of the broken valve, which had already been undertaken.