3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Exploring the environmental impacts of fly ash on Eskom's business sustainability and sustainable development: a study on Kriel power station in Mpumalanga province of South Africa(2018) Rasimphi, Khuliso JamesFly ash generated at coal fired power stations is associated with various environmental impacts. The aim of this study was to particularly investigate alternative ways in which fly ash generated at Kriel Power Station can be managed effectively to minimize environmental impacts in order to ensure alignment with the notion of sustainable development. The study was primarily focused on exploring the impacts of Kriel Power Station’s fly ash as well as current fly management practices within the context of contemporary principles of environmental management and sustainable development. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used for data collection. Purposive sampling was used as primary sampling procedure to select fitting sample from the study population. Data from structured questionnaire surveys, semi- structured interviews as well as existing records was used for data collection. This study has found that fly ash utilization is an ideal management practice which is aligned with sustainable development notion as compared to disposal to ash dams. Kriel Power Station’s fly ash was found to consist of various valuable elements which can be used for various industrial production purposes. The findings further suggest that the very same valuable chemical elements found in Kriel Power Station’s fly ash can cause adverse environmental impacts such as water, land and air pollution depending on the management approach. One of the key findings of this research is that fly ash utilization program is currently not well marketed in South Africa; and there is a need for all relevant stakeholders to work together to educate the public on the opportunities presented by fly ash. As part of concluding remarks, this study also suggested some enabling policies which can be established in order to optimize fly ash utilization from the regulator level (national level) to the generator and end user level (institutions). Recommendations on relevant future studies which can potentially be undertaken to explore adverse impacts as well as benefits of fly ash were also made.