CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP

SAFETY, HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT (SHE)

Land remediation

Annual reviews of the Group’s environmental liability have been conducted by independent consultants since 1995 and the level of detail increases each year. The scope of the 2007 review was to:

• list the sites owned, used or vacated by AECI businesses;
• establish the extent of potential contamination on these sites;
• estimate remediation work and cost, and split the costs into regulatory and discretionary. Regulatory costs are those that must be incurred to comply with legal requirements; discretionary costs are those that are likely to be incurred to meet the requirements of future land redevelopment plans. Discretionary costs have not been validated and estimates for unknown amounts are not provided for, including those costs likely to be incurred only at the time of plant or site closure;
• establish the timing of work by considering safety and health issues, environmental legislation, and land redevelopment needs;
• estimate potential post-remediation costs. Operation and maintenance may be required until remedial goals are reached and monitoring will be used, where appropriate, to demonstrate to the relevant authorities that remediation has been successful; and
• record findings and document any exclusions from the scope of work which may be relevant.

The guiding principles of AECI's remediation activities are to protect human health and the environment; to use good science, proven concepts, and best available techniques not entailing excessive cost; and to work with regulatory authorities and share information with interested and affected parties.

A risk-based approach guides the process and human health and environmental risk assessments are undertaken at appropriate stages in individual projects. These assessments influence subsequent activities.

The estimates are a reasonable approach to quantifying the potential future liability that has resulted from past operations. It is assumed that good management and operating practices at current activities will reduce remediation requirements over time.

Liability study findings are used to plan detailed remediation projects and to motivate Group companies to initiate necessary remediation and environmental management activities.

The environmental liability for the Group is currently estimated as R140 million for regulatory remediation. Remediation is scheduled for completion by 2010, except for that to be done only at plant/site closure.