City residents ‘fume’ about petrol stations

THE Windhoek City Council has directed its town planners to identify sites for petrol stations away from residential areas.

At its first monthly meeting of the year, City officials noted that emissions from petroleum products were harmful to human health and needed to be controlled. With the mushrooming of petrol stations – especially in residential areas – the City’s Management Committee last year asked the municipality’s Planning, Urbanisation and Environment Department to prepare a submission on the environmental impact associated with the placing of service stations.At present the City has no specific regulations for the control of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at petrol stations.The City says demand for more stations in Windhoek has developed in line with the capital’s growing population.A municipal study found that “VOCs are a health risk particularly for people working at petrol stations and nearby residents”.The effects of emissions from petroleum products are dependent on the concentration and length of time exposed to it.Workers at petrol stations are more likely to feel the effects than consumers who only spend a short time at filling stations.In most industrialised countries petrol stations are situated along major highways, away from residential areas.According to Windhoek Municipal officials, less importance was placed on the problem of carbon dioxide emissions in the city at present because of the very low per capita energy consumption.But if current growth rates for fossil fuel consumption since Independence increased, the city could contribute considerably to carbon dioxide emissions.Considering that most petrol stations stored their fuel underground, the City said it was difficult to detect leakages unless test boreholes were drilled downstream.With the mushrooming of petrol stations – especially in residential areas – the City’s Management Committee last year asked the municipality’s Planning, Urbanisation and Environment Department to prepare a submission on the environmental impact associated with the placing of service stations. At present the City has no specific regulations for the control of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at petrol stations. The City says demand for more stations in Windhoek has developed in line with the capital’s growing population. A municipal study found that “VOCs are a health risk particularly for people working at petrol stations and nearby residents”. The effects of emissions from petroleum products are dependent on the concentration and length of time exposed to it. Workers at petrol stations are more likely to feel the effects than consumers who only spend a short time at filling stations. In most industrialised countries petrol stations are situated along major highways, away from residential areas. According to Windhoek Municipal officials, less importance was placed on the problem of carbon dioxide emissions in the city at present because of the very low per capita energy consumption. But if current growth rates for fossil fuel consumption since Independence increased, the city could contribute considerably to carbon dioxide emissions. Considering that most petrol stations stored their fuel underground, the City said it was difficult to detect leakages unless test boreholes were drilled downstream.