Medupi's air pollution could be deadly - report

When completed and fully operational with an output of 4 800 megawatts, Medupi Power Station in
Lephalale will kill an average of 1.4 people a year. This is according to a 2006 report conducted by Airshed Planning Professionals on behalf of Eskom and released last week following a court application by an environmental rights organisation.
Eskom was forced to release the document after non-governmental organisation, Centre for Environmental Rights, filed a Promotion of Access to Information Act application. The report shows that air pollution caused by Eskom’s coal power stations in two provinces is killing at least 20 people a year. The report also states that the figure could jump to 617, with 25 000 people
hospitalised, once all its stations are up and running.
The release of the report comes in the wake of the State of the Nation address where President Jacob Zuma announced that the construction of Medupi will be accelerated and that the government is committed to building a third mega coal power station.
Eskom responded to media reports this week by saying that the “study is not applicable and is not accurate. The impact is significantly exaggerated and the study is outdated and does not reflect reality,” spokesman Andrew Etzinger said on Monday.
“What the study does not include is the impact of Eskom’s environmental mitigations that we have put in place to reduce the impact,” he added.
The DA said in a statement this week that it will request that Eskom be brought before the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises to account for this report and provide a plan to curb coal plant-related casualties.