Durban’s air pollution… its impact on asthma sufferers in Merebank

COMMUNITIES living close to the Sapref refinery in the Durban South Basin, know the struggles of surviving every day. The constant air pollution from the refinery over the years has taken its toll on their health and well-being.

Percy Chetty, from Beverly Gardens flats, in Merebank, said many elderly and young residents, including his wife, Yogaville Chetty, 63, suffered from asthma, which, at times, left them debilitated.  

“The people in our community struggle with air pollution, no matter their age. My wife suffers a lot. We keep hoping our circumstances change but it never does. In the meantime, my wife’s health continues to deteriorate,” said Chetty.

Selvie Naicker, 70, said she had been struggling with asthma since she moved into the area.

“I was not born with asthma. I developed it after moving here 17 years ago. Each year it gets worse. At times I cannot breathe and the stench in the air makes it worse. My medication, like my asthma pump, helps at times but sometimes it does not. It is hard living under these conditions. Sometimes the refinery turns on their machines at night and then we get the smell while we are sleeping. I struggle to breathe and get asthma attacks at night."

Anjalie Govender, 72, said the pollution caused her grandson to be born with asthma.

“My grandson, who is now 24, still struggles with asthma, which leaves him breathless due to the pollution. The fumes keep him awake at night. When he was younger, he used to roll on the floor due to not being able to breathe. It was and still is sad to watch him suffer. There is nothing much we can do to help him when he has these attacks."

She said moving out of the area would help but they do not have the funds to do so.

“I live on a pension. I cannot live anywhere else because I would not be able to afford to. We already battle to make ends meet here. Moving anywhere else would probably be worse. Now our children and grandchildren are suffering too."

Lorrane Govender, 54, has lived in the area for 28 years and said her niece moved out after her marriage due to her severe asthma. 

“She was born with asthma and lived here for 21 years before she left. She struggled every day while living here. Even her medication could not help her. Now when she visits, she has an instant asthma attack because the pollution is so bad."

Hassan Mohammed, 35, said he was born with asthma and the only way he survived was through taking home remedies.

“Many times, my medication does not help, so I use my own remedies. It’s difficult because I’m always out of breath and my chest is heavy. I live on the third floor and by the time I reach my home, I’m out of breath. The pollution makes me upset. Sadly, nothing is being done to help us. We continue to suffer, while hearing constant empty promises."

Bongani Mthembu, the air quality and health officer for South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), said the pollution in Merebank and Wentworth had reduced. 

“This is due to the two major oil industries, Engine and Supref, not running at full capacity, especially Engine. As we all know, Sapref shut down after the 2022 flooding. This contributed to a massive reduction in air quality in the south Durban area. Engine is now running at 30% to 40% capacity as the oil refinery because they are looking at doing exports. The adjacent company that might be causing air quality problems, would be Mondi, as they are proceeding with business as usual at full capacity."

He said when it came to helping the elderly who suffered from health conditions, such as asthma, there was no assistance. 

Desmond D'Sa, an environmentalist, said the government had done nothing to prosecute companies that had been irresponsible.

“There is no liability from these companies. If something happens, like asthma and cancer, all the people are suffering with, where's the liability so that people can go to the hospital? The environment is dying. Not only the birds, the bees and the fish, but the trees, the plants, the flowers, it's all dying because of all the chemicals that have been dumped. So you can imagine with the human body how many people have been affected?”

He said the company pumped chemicals into the air without any repercussions.

“These companies are pushing out tons of chemicals into our lungs. I struggle when I'm driving around at night to monitor these big companies because the pollution levels are bad. Our children are sick, our children have asthma. At night these companies operate and on weekends when nobody's around to stop them. 

"People are dying. People are sick. We're battling with communities every week. The problem is that we have a lack of commitment from this government. They want to destroy Merebank, similar to what they are doing in Clairwood. Destroying the people's homes, their land, and their health and not being held responsible for it."

World Asthma Day highlights asthma awareness and care around the world. The death rate from asthma in South Africa is among the highest in the world with South Africa ranking 25th globally in terms of asthma prevalence, and 5th in terms of mortality.

In celebration of World Asthma Day 2025, the Global Initiative for Asthma, chose the theme “Make Inhaled Treatments Accessible for ALL”. This emphasised the need to ensure that people with asthma could access inhaled medications that are essential both for controlling the underlying disease and treating attacks.

THE POST