UPL fire: here’s the full inventory of chemicals in the destroyed Cornubia warehouse

Apart from the environmental atrocity that has been unleashed by this fire on the local and not so local environment, the further very disturbing issue is that these toxic chemicals were bound to be unleashed onto soils and into the air across South Africa. It is time to push to expose and challenge the fact that our farming sector continues to deposit tons of these kinds of chemicals into our environment. This is also an environmental atrocity just not as visible as the fire of the last weeks.

Stored here but banned in the rest of the world means this is a toxic dump site. Minister this is really big. We need international outcry to help us put pressure on why we got to where we are. So researching toxic dumping I came across "environmental racism. This is a term that’s used to describe a form of systemic racism – manifested through policies or practices – whereby communities of colour are disproportionately burdened with health hazards through policies and practices that force them to live in proximity to sources of toxic waste." Sound like what we have here. Obviously palms were greased to get where we are.

As the engineer involved in building, and later manager, running South Africa's first herbicide manufacturing facility 30+ years ago outside East London, we had to comply with every safety/health standard imaginable. And rightly so. I am appalled that the authorities allowed this warehouse to be located next to a Makro, down the road from further retail activities, and close to a residential area. And to warehouse hazardous liquids, bund walls to contain spillage, are a prerequisite. Authorities again!! Yes, rightly blame UPL - they knew the rules were being bent and broken, but as much blame must be levelled at the relevant authorities for closing their eyes and allowing this situation to happen. Whether money changed hands to look the other way is another matter entirely!!

Firstly, i am pleased i don't live in that area. I believe sooner that sooner rather than later this should be seen as a Class Action suit jointly against the company and the municipality. This will be with us for decades.

As a short-term immediate and urgent reaction the entire community next to the facility must be moved to a safe environment. Not ASAP. Now.

A positive of the rioting. Exposing this abuse. Time for SA law makers to get with the program.

While it is understandable that their is a lot of fear and resentment regarding agrochemicals, use of such compounds in responsible and regulated societies ensures that the hundreds of types of monocultures by which we humans feed ourselves, are secured. This atrocity is not in the fact that agrochemicals need to be used by farmers, but in the fact that the storage facility did not meet safety requirements. All commercial farming units in South Africa today are audited out of their minds by various regulating bodies to ensure compliance with food safety regulations. We should keep our emotions in check when we have insufficient understanding of the full picture. Also consider that many of the products destroyed were not in their final (application) format. It is highly likely that South Africa was not the end point for some of the chemicals that were stored at this facility. In which case, once again, we were probably the easy entry into other destinations due to political blind eyes...

While it is understandable that there is a lot of fear and resentment regarding agrochemicals, use of such compounds in responsible and regulated societies ensures that the hundreds of types of monocultures by which we humans feed ourselves, are secured. This atrocity is not in the fact that agrochemicals need to be used by farmers, but in the fact that the storage facility did not meet safety requirements. All commercial farming units in South Africa today are audited out of their minds by various regulating bodies to ensure compliance with food safety regulations. We should keep our emotions in check when we have insufficient understanding of the full picture. Also consider that many of the products destroyed were not in their final (application) format. It is highly likely that South Africa was not the end point for some of the chemicals that were stored at this facility. In which case, once again, we were probably the easy entry into other destinations due to politically blind eyes...

Question: How did UPL get the EIA passed for this facility when there was no retention berm around the facility ? One can see this clearly from the drone photo of this article, with a bird's eye view of the site. The idea of a bund or a berm (either a moat or high walls around the perimeter of the site) is that, if and when there is a fire or a spill of toxic compounds, then the toxic compounds shall be retained within the facility, together with any water sprayed onto the fire to extinguish the fire. It is a basic EIA requirement globally for all sites storing toxic compounds. So how did they get permission to move into this site without meeting this basic requirement ?

Thank you Daily Maverick team for your excellent reporting. Is there a Facebook or other social media group to allow people affected by this disaster to rally together and even support one another? I've asked a friend with ties to various activist groups and it appears not. Individuals and civil society need to collect and record as much data as possible for future litigation against UPL and the SA government. I think that a FB group will be invaluable to do this.