Mining Migrant Worker Recruitment Policy and the Production of a Silicosis Epidemic in Late 20th-Century Southern Africa.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Between the 1980s and 2000s, an epidemic of silicosis was identified in migrant black gold miners, many from neighbouring countries, who had worked in the South African gold mines. This study uses the newly available employment database of a large gold mining company to demonstrate how a sustained rise in employment duration in a new cohort of black migrant workers resulted from changes in recruitment policy, and it examines the implications for current surveillance and redress.

Methods

Contract data of 300,774 workers from the employment database of a multi-mine gold mining company were analysed for 1973-2018. Piecewise linear regression was applied to determine trends in cumulative employment, including South African versus cross-border miners. The proportions w

SUBMITTER: Ehrlich R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10064917 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature