The South Durban Basin has been described as a “virtual gas chamber”, it is the subtropical home to a population of approximately 285 000 people, some of whom live within 500 meters of the highest chemical cluster of industry in South Africa.
Situated close to one of Africa’s busiest ports and on the primary route for imported crude oil and exported refined petroleum and petrochemical products, the South Durban Basin is the convenient location for (among other industries) the massive Sapref refineries, owned by Shell, BP and Engen and controlled by Petronas.

  

Sapref Pipelines running through the
Bluff area
 

An aged network of underground pipes lead from the extensive infrastructure of storage tanks containing toxic petrochemicals.
Many of the pipes lead through the residential area. Few are marked above ground and most are buried a mere two metres below the surface.
The residents of the area, already suffering from unusually high levels of asthma due to the air pollution from the refineries' smoke stacks, also have to deal with a high incidence of leaks from the pipelines. A massive increase in the level of incidents was recorded between 1998 and 2002. In July 2001, a huge leak spilled over a million litres of fuel from a 28-year old pipe. The leak contaminated a significant area of land, and above ground rising levels of benzene in the air forced the evacuation of several households. It has been found that exposure to significant levels of benzene over a period of time leads to various forms of cancer. Medical research has found the leukaemia rate in South Durban to be 24 times higher than the national average. (Carnie 2001). "One report described the level of Benzene in the area as being two to five times higher than a busy five lane highway in Detroit, Michigan during rush hour. There are no highways in the area.” Says local G.P Dr. Seetheram.