Occupational health monitoring practices of registered mercury-using workplaces within Gauteng.
OBJECTIVE
To assess monitoring practices of workplaces registered as mercury users within the then PWV South region of the Department of Manpower (now Gauteng region of the Department of Labour); to identify the main industrial sectors that use mercury and to estimate the number of workers potentially exposed.


METHODS
A descriptive study design was used.


METHODS
Workplaces situated in the former PWV South region, as defined by the Department of Manpower.


METHODS
Fifty-eight workplaces were registered as mercury users in this region. Postal questionnaires were sent to 34 workplaces on the Department of Manpower's list of mercury users-24 were excluded because they had closed, moved or claimed, on telephonic contact, no longer to use mercury.


METHODS
Industry type and form of mercury used, monitoring practices and attitudes to legislation.


RESULTS
The response rate to the questionnaire was 73.5% (25). Despite being registered as users, 52% (13) of the respondents claimed not to use mercury. Of the 10 mercury-using workplaces, 5 conducted biological monitoring, while only 2 performed environmental measurements. Six of the 10 workplaces used an inorganic form of mercury, 3 used a combination of inorganic and organic mercury, while 1 used organic mercury only. Sixty per cent of all respondents would support legislation that regulated monitoring of mercury in industry.


CONCLUSIONS
The study suggests that biological monitoring of mercury is conducted by a limited number of users in Gauteng, while environmental monitoring appears to be neglected. Recently enacted legislation for industrial mercury monitoring needs to be implemented rigorously. Since more than half of the respondents claimed not to use mercury, even though they were registered as users with the Department of Manpower, the study further demonstrates a need to review the system of registration and record-keeping.
Weiner
R
R
Department of Community Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Ross
M
M
D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry / Q000145:classification; D008628:Mercury / Q000009:adverse effects; D008630:Mercury Poisoning / Q000209:etiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D013019:South Africa; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D008628:Mercury