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Dr. Z Pallo Jordan, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, received the report of the Desai Commission of Enquiry, at a public meeting in Macassar, Somerset West, today. The Desai Commission was tasked to inquire into the sulphur fires at the Somerset West site of AECI Limited which occurred between 13 and 16 December 1995.

The Commission was appointed by President Mandela on 21 October 1996. The terms of reference, as published in the Government Gazette No 197514, were as follows:

a) to investigate the origin and establishment of the sulphur stockpile at the Somerset West site of AECI Limited;
b) to investigate and determine the events leading up to the cause of the fire at the said site on or about 16 December 1995, the adequacy of the emergency response plan and the effectiveness of its execution;
c) to investigate and determine the impact of the fire on the surrounding communities and the environment;
d) to report to the State President as soon as this can conveniently be done, using all diligence, the result of the Commission's enquiry.

The evidence before the Commission revealed that the government of the day in 1967, decided that in the light of possible economic sanctions, a national strategic stockpile should be established and proposed that AECI should be responsible for part of the shipment. The government of the day made it clear to AECI that its role should not be disclosed. The Commission did not find, or it was not disclosed to it, any records of discussion of the transactions by the then Board of AECI. It is equally probable that, in the light of the secrecy with which the issue was approached, the discussions of the AECI Board of Directors were not recorded.

Although there was no formal contract, it appeared to the Commission that the parties were in agreement that AECI would be responsible for the maintenance of the sulphur stockpile at its site.

The Commission expressed its concern about the tardiness of the Department of Trade and Industry and AECI in dealing with the disposal of the sulphur stockpile before and after the incidents. In the light of the experiences of the residents of Macassar, the continued presence of the stockpiles was a source great concern and fear for the community. The Commission is of the opinion that a greater deal of sensitivity should have been displayed by the Department of Trade and Industry in its dealings with the community.

The main findings of the Commission, with regard to the fire and the events leading up to it, were that AECI took no steps whatsoever during the entire period, from the establishment of the stockpile to the time of the December 1995 fires, to asses the risk of fires and bring about precautionary measures to protect against fire of the stockpile. From the time of the unbundling of the AECI Group on 1 January 1993, the failure to conduct a hazard assessment was due to the failure by the AECI or AOS at the time of the unbundling to expressly and specifically assign such responsibility.

The Commission is of the view that AECI's conduct was casually negligent in relation to the sulphur fire of 16 December 1995.

With regard to the role of outside fire and rescue services, the police, health authorities and civil defence, the Commission identified a number of deficiencies in the emergency response by the authorities in dealing with the crisis. One of which was the lack of communication between the agencies and the local community before, during and after the incident, and a lack of equipment and resources. The Commission recommended that civil defence statutory planning and control provisions be subjected to a stringent and comprehensive review.

Vital evidence was lost due to the erasing of recordings of all transmissions during the incident at the CMC control room. The Commission recommends that the CMC's procedures in this regard be urgently reviewed to ensure that vital recordings of evidence relative to major fires, emergencies and other disasters, in which its services and personnel are involved, are not lost.

The Commission found that the report of the Environmental Evaluation Unit of the University of Cape Town, on the incident, had a serious shortcoming, as Macassar and its surrounding area was not included as part of the bio-physical assessment.

The evidence heard by the Commission demonstrates that the fire impacted detrimentally on the surrounding communities and the environment. The Macassar community, being the residential area closest to the sulphur fire and which was enveloped by the sulphur dioxide cloud, bore the brunt of the impacts of the fire. The Commission recommended that the machinery be provided to furnish those persons of Macassar and surrounding disadvantaged communities affected by the sulphur fire, with legal assistance to recover compensation with respect to their claims for damages.

The Commission also recommended that further investigations be conducted to determine the biophysical impact of the sulphur fire in the Macassar area. The monitoring of plant recovery in the Macassar area (i.e. crops, garden plants and especially the sensitive plant species on the Macassar dune system), should be undertaken in order to determine the long term effects of the sulphur fire. A survey of the breeding success of the amphibian species present in the Macassar wetlands should be conducted, as a means of determining the long term effects of the sulphur fire on vertebrate and invertebrate aquatic fauna.

Minister Jordan accepted the report from the Chairman of the Commission, Mr Justice Desai, and thanked him and the Commission for a comprehensive and clear report. He said that the government would study the report, give urgent attention to the findings and recommendations and correspond with the affected parties as soon as possible.

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