Mombasa closes coal operation at Bamburi Cement after uproar

The coal dust affects residents within a three-kilometre radius, posing a health risk.

The company imported more than 50,000 tonnes of coal through the Mombasa port and started transferring the coal from the port to the factory from January 3.

On Monday, company officials told angry county officials who had made an impromptu visit to the factory that they would finish transferring the coal in a day or two.

Already, more than 40,000 tonnes have been transferred to the Bamburi factory, but are being stored ‘carelessly’ in an open ground within the company premises, according to the county.

During the site visit led by the Mombasa Deputy Governor Francis Thoya, who also holds the environment docket as the county executive, workers were seen operating on the coal without any masks.

“You see? Even your own workers are not protected. They are inhaling the coal dust from morning to evening. Will you compensate all of them when they get health problems or you will just sack them and hire others?” an angry Thoya said.

Bamburi Cement’s Deepak Jasuja also acknowledged they do not have an Environmental Impact Assessment license.

“But we ensure we undertake all the precautions necessary,” he told an unconvinced angry delegation from the county.

The delegation from the county, which included public health chief officer Abdillahi Dalano and his environment counterpart Pauline Odinga, felt that the company had earlier refused to accept a notice they were being served by the county.

“There was a miscommunication,” Deepak said. 

But Thoya said: “You know very well you can’t just bring coal and dump it. It must have a storage area. Even clinker. You can’t dump it like this. We are closing this place.”

The closure might cost Bamburi millions in demurrages as the vessel is still docked at the Port of Mombasa.

With the stoppage of coal operation, the factory will also be forced to stop production of cement because coal is a key ingredient on cement production.

Coal is used as an energy source in cement production. Large amounts of energy are required to produce cement.

Kilns usually burn coal in the form of powder and consume around 450 grammes of coal for about 900 grammes of cement produced.

The company imports 50,000 tonnes of coal from South Africa after every four months.

Later, the company issued a defensive statement stating that it is a responsible organisation committed to the global environmental agenda, and take seriously the dust emissions concerns expressed by communities near the Mombasa plant.

This is despite the company doing little to arrest the situation after the residents raised the concern two weeks ago.

“Following an internal audit, we have established that the isolated occurrence was caused by fugitive dust carried by strong winds while handling residual fine coal during ground surface preparation at a coal storage facility,” a statement read in part.

“As an immediate response, we have intensified water sprinkling in the haulage roads and storage areas to suppress fugitive dust. Critical to note, this surface preparation on residual fines was a one-time occurrence and unfortunately was impacted by the strong unprecedented winds blowing at the time.” 

Thoya, who is also a victim of the dust particles because he lives within the three-kilometre radius of the Bamburi coal quarry, said he did not expect what he saw at Bamburi Cement, a company he said he held in high regard.

“My child has asthma now. I can make a call home and tell them not to clean the house so that we go together right now and see if we would not find coal dust on surfaces.

“On the outside, you have hoodwinked us by planting beautiful trees, but behind the scenes, it is terrible,” the Deputy Governor said. 

The company said they are working with relevant national and county authorities and is further collaborating with the community to avoid what they termed an isolated incident triggered by strong winds.

“Importantly, dust emissions management in our operations has continually demonstrated positive findings that fall within NEMA (National Environment Management Authority) operational criteria over the years, in conformity with national environmental regulations," the statement said. 

“Bamburi Cement PLC has been a responsible corporate citizen and has been operational for several decades, with no such incidence having occurred in the past.

“We would like to thank the County Government of Mombasa for working with us to ensure that all the relevant stakeholders concerns have been addressed.”