Cape Town 4 July 2003 Sapa
The number of accidents involving tankers carrying chemicals has decreased since 1999, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said in a written reply to a question tabled in the National Assembly.
Radebe said the worst years for chemical spills were in 2000 and 2001 when 92 accidents were recorded for both years.
Since 1999 until presently the largest number of chemical spill have occurred in KwaZulu-Natal with 84 spills, followed by 52 incidents in Gauteng and 32 in Limpopo.
During November 2002 in Johannesburg, 20,000 litres of fuel was destroyed when the tanker carrying it spun out of control. A fire was started when lightning struck some of the fuel that had spilled.
Radebe said the department was in the process of appointing an inspectorate to investigate chemical spills.
The inspectorate would initially comprise 17 inspectors.
"An extensive training programme has already been developed and it is envisaged that the inspectorate will commence training during September this year," he said.
He said large chemical producers, manufacturers and suppliers have introduced a Safety Quality Assessment System to evaluate the performance of transport operators.