National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004 (Act No. 39 of 2004) Regulations National Dust Control Regulations, 2026 1. Definitions

 

In these Regulations, any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned in the Act has that meaning, and unless the context indicates otherwise—

 

"dust"

means settleable particulate matter, including any material composed of solid particles small enough to pass through a 1 mm screen but large enough to settle by virtue of their weight into the sampling container from the ambient air;

 

"dustfall"

means settleable particulate matter;

 

"dust management plan"

means a plan with control measures for preventing, minimizing, and managing dust, including fugitive dust;

 

"dustfall monitoring programme"

means a programme for the monitoring of dustfall on a continuous basis;

 

"fugitive dust"

means solid airborne particulate matter generated or emitted from any source other than a stack or chimney;

 

"historical mine dump"

means debris, discard, residues, slimes, screening, slurry, tailings, waste rock, foundry sand, beneficiation plant waste, ash or any other product derived from or incidental to prospecting, exploration, mining or production operations, which do not require any authorisation in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002);

 

"non-residential area"

means any area, of which the land is used for agricultural, industrial, transport, commercial, business or mining purposes as prescribed under schedule 2 of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013 (Act No. 16 of 2013);

 

"nuisance"

means an unreasonable interference or likely interference caused by dust to the use or enjoyment by an owner or occupier of his or her property or environment, or to the ordinary comfort, convenience and peace;

 

"premises"

means any building or other structure together with the land on which it is situated, and any adjoining land occupied or used in connection with any activities carried on in that building or structure, and includes any land without any buildings or other structures from which dust may be generated;

 

"reclamation"

means obtaining materials of value from a historical mine dump;

 

"residential area"

means any area of which the land is used for the purposes listed in schedule 2 of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013 (Act No. 16 of 2013), excluding land used for agricultural, industrial, commercial, business, transport or mining purposes;

 

"SANAS"

means the South African National Accreditation System established by section 3 of the Accreditation for Conformity Assessment, Calibration and Good Laboratory Practice Act, 2006 (Act No. 19 of 2006);

 

"SANS 1137"

means the last approved version of the South African National Standard 1137, which is the standard test method for the collection and measurement of dustfall (settleable particulate matter);

 

"sensitive receptors"

means locations that may be adversely affected by dust emissions, which include but are not limited to hospitals, schools, daycare centres, surface water and sensitive ecological areas; and

 

"The Act"

means the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004 (Act No. 39 of 2004).