Browsing by Subject "pollution"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    A sea of contested evidence: Disputes over coastal pollution in Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa
    (2022) Beukes, Amy; Green, Lesley; Petrik, Leslie
    The City of Cape Town's (CoCT) wastewater management system discharges effluent from households, industries and other sources into the Atlantic Ocean through deep-water marine outfalls in Green Point, Camps Bay and Hout Bay. At total capacity, these three outfalls discharge 55.3 megalitres (Ml) into marine receiving environments daily. With minimal pre-treatment that amounts to screening and sieving, this results in microbial and chemical pollution of the sea (including chemicals of emerging concern), marine organisms, recreational beaches, and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This research focuses on contestations over evidence of that pollution in Hout Bay. The study documents the work of independent scientists seeking to provide evidence of coastal pollution obtained via microbial and chemical analyses of water (coastal and inland) and marine organisms (Mytilus galloprovincialis) samples. It also presents accounts of pollution obtained via ethnographic research with local residents, fishers, frequent water users and river activists who have observed and experienced poor coastal water quality. However, the form of evidence that is considered and informs decision-making processes by the CoCT has consistently sought to invalidate these forms of evidence, from both independent scientists and the public. Debates around knowledge of water and contests over evidence that highlight the entanglements of science, politics, and ways of knowing make visible a consistent pattern in coastal water-quality governance by the City, which results in inaction regarding the ever-growing issue of coastal pollution in Cape Town.
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    Jet lag and environmental conditions that may influence exercise performance during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa
    (2010) Schwellnus, Martin; Derman, Elton
    The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be held in South Africa in June/July 2010. This is the largest international sports event ever to be held in this country. At this time 32 international football teams, with their management and supporters, will travel to South Africa. These players and visitors will be exposed to changes in time zones (those travelling from continents in the East and West) as well as different environmental conditions. In particular, for the players, the achievement of peak sporting performance during this event is most important. It is well established that, in order to achieve peak exercise performance, many variables need to be optimised. These variables include physical and mental training, rest, nutrition, team dynamics and tactics. However, adjustments to differences in time zones as well as environmental factors on and around the playing field can also have a significant impact on exercise performance. In this review, the potential effects of “jet lag”, as well as several important environmental conditions, on exercise performance will be discussed. The climatic, atmospheric and weather conditions that are likely to be prevalent in each of the South African host cities at the time of the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be reviewed. Finally, practical recommendations to deal with the effects of jet lag, as well as guidelines to optimise performance under different environmental conditions that are expected during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, will be provided.
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    Knowledge and attitudes in the rural Western Cape towards pesticides in water sources
    (2004) Dalvie, Mohamed A; London, Leslie; Mbuli, Simphiwe; Cairncross, Eugene
    There is a need for pesticide water monitoring in South Africa and for community awareness with regard to chemical contamination of rural water sources. The results of two descriptive studies in the rural Western Cape are reported. One assessed water usage and the knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to water of farm residents (229 participants from 60 farms) in the Slanghoek Valley, Hex River Valley and Grabouw (KAP) and the other (monitoring capacity survey), investigated water usage and the capacities of rural communities (63 farm residents from 16 farms in three local authorities and 8 environmental health officers (EHOs) from 7 local authorities) to conduct monitoring of pesticides in rural water sources. Most farm residents in both surveys identified protected sources such as groundwater from springs and boreholes (30 to 60%), and water from mountain dams (40 to 65%), as the most important sources for drinking and other domestic purposes. Many (> 40%), however, also reported farm dams. For use in the field (both drinking and other), potentially contaminated sources (river, subsurface drains, dams) were more frequently reported. Forty-eight percent of participants also reported swimming in farm dams. Other water sources reported included municipal, rain and canal water. In the monitoring capacity survey, 27 % reported using untapped water. About a third of respondents in the KAP survey reported living within 10 m of the nearest site of spraying and many used pesticides at home for pest control (41%) and in the garden (33%). While almost all participants (> 90%) in both surveys were aware that pesticides and polluted water could be harmful, many did not identify health effects (20%) especially chronic effects (91%) or reported no training (37%) in health effects. In all 7 districts surveyed in the monitoring capacity survey, water sources on farms are tested by EHOs. Only 3 (37%) respondents felt that there were enough persons conducting water monitoring in their area. Only 1 respondent reported that pesticides were monitored, and only in request to a complaint. Three state laboratories, that did not have the analytical capacity to conduct routine pesticide water monitoring at low (< 0.1 mg/l) detection limits, were identified as conducting water analyses. The study found that farm residents in the Western Cape are potentially exposed to pesticides through various environmental routes including water. This emphasises the need to monitor water for pesticides in the Western Cape, but in order to do this, human and laboratory resources and capacities to conduct routine pesticide water monitoring need to be increased.