title: Environmental legislation and contamination: the gap between theory and reality in South Africa.
abstract: Like many areas of its constitution, South Africa has progressive legislation to both prevent and clean up environmental contamination. However, recent research has highlighted a large gap between legislation and practice. This paper presents the context of the intent of environmental waste legislation in South Africa and highlights a case of mercury contamination in a rural area which illustrates the gap between the theory of legislation and the reality on the ground. Mercury contamination in humans poses well known health threats, yet despite attention from the media, non-governmental organisations and academic researchers, a major pollutant remains and contamination levels remain high, two decades after the original polluting incident took place.
authors.affiliation: South African Medical Research Council, P.O. Box 87373, Houghton 2041, South Africa. vathiswapapu@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Vathiswa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Papu-Zamxaka
authors.forename: Trudy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harpham
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mathee
mesh_terms: D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D058735:Environmental Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006256:Hazardous Waste / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D008628:Mercury; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012423:Rural Health; D013019:South Africa
chemical_list: D006256:Hazardous Waste; D008628:Mercury