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Scaw Metals Group Sustainable Development Report 2005 27
Summary of Group Health Targets and Performance
Targets 2005 Performance 2005 Targets 2006
Set targets for medical surveillance to ensure all employees
are examined at correct intervals.
All remaining cases of occupational diseases to be identified
and submitted for compensation.
Ensure all noise zones re-identified as per country standard,
demarcated and suitable hearing protection devices issued.
Health risk assessment carried out on all hazardous
chemicals, Material Safety Data Sheets obtained and
medical surveillance carried out where appropriate.
90% of medical surveillance achieved.
Majority of occupational diseases now identified and
submitted for compensation.
All noise zones identified, demarcated and suitable
hearing protection issued.
Initiated but still ongoing.
Ensure medical surveillance targets continue to be met.
Perform risk assessments and where appropriate initiate
medical surveillance for hand arm vibration (HAV).
Monitored on an ongoing basis.
Ongoing.
Milestones and Achievements
A health profile of the workforce has been determined and
the majority of occupational diseases from previous exposure
have been processed and submitted for compensation.
Future cases of occupational diseases will be as a result
of a failure of current measures instituted to prevent them.
Occupational health aspects are not as visible as accidents,
which are immediate and often dramatic, while occupational
diseases on average take many years to develop. Thus
employees may not feel as inclined to wear personal
protective equipment (PPE) for disease prevention as they
might do for accident prevention. However, every effort is
being made to substitute, eliminate and reduce hazards
where possible.
A computerised primary health care system (Meddocs) has
been implemented in the group’s South African clinics,
which will allow for the collection of better information on
employee health status.
Review of 2005
There has been an extensive investigation into manganese
exposure over the past year. Exposure to manganese
fumes or dust occurs during melting where manganese is
added to the furnace to produce manganese steel. Exposure
also occurs during fettling, gouging or welding when a
casting is being dressed, as well as during gas cutting of
manganese steel into smaller pieces to enable it to be
remelted in the furnaces.
Repeated occupational hygiene testing showed manganese
in-air-levels was very low. However, some random blood
manganese sampling did show levels to be at the upper
level for non-exposed individuals, indicating some level of
exposure and absorption. The correlation between blood/
urine manganese levels and susceptibility to manganese
poisoning or manganism is poor and there is no direct
exposure relationship.
As a result, the decision was taken to start medical
surveillance on manganese exposed individuals. This will
take the form of an individual manganese questionnaire
and neurological examination. Biological monitoring will be
done on a group basis on selected individuals to test for
evidence of exposure and to assess whether intervention
programmes have been successful, for example better
local extraction. Concurrently efforts are being made to
remove fumes and dust where possible in order to reduce
the airborne levels even further.