CLASS ACTION ON OIL POLLUTERS
Sep 29th, 2008 by admin
Local residents in Durban, South Africa are taking the owners of two oil refineries to court to force them to cut pollution. Residents and environmental groups have failed over the past decade to persuade the refineries to upgrade their facilities in order to reduce pollution. Activists have been gathering scientific data since 2000 in an effort to support their claim that the two refineries emit dangerous chemicals linked to high levels of ill-health in the communities. The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance is now in the process of preparing a class action lawsuit against Engen, Shell and British Petroleum. Meanwhile the oil companies say they have spent millions on environmental improvements which have reduced emissions. The alliance insists that the refineries built in the 1950s are too old and should be decommissioned.
