A company that processed manganese for 46 years did not examine workers for manganese poisoning until a television documentary on the disease, a Department of Labour inquiry in Cato Ridge heard on Thursday.
Bryan Broekman, chief executive of Assmang ferro-manganese works at Cato Ridge, told the inquiry that was attended by more than 100 people that the company had complied with health and safety regulations governing exposure.
”Thus up to early 2005, on the part of the company there was no reason to believe that exposure of its employees to manganese dust or fume, that was generally within the recommended regulatory levels, could cause manganism, and the company accordingly did not undertake medical surveillance specifically for manganism.”
He said that ”Assmang only became aware of similar tools [for the surveillance of manganism] in 2005 following the television programme on manganism at Samancor’s Meyerton Works.”
As far as he knew, the company had prior to April 2005 not recorded a single case of manganism in 46 years of operation.
The public inquiry follows reports of six cases of manganism at the Assmang ferro-manganese smelter plant in Cato Ridge.
Manganism is acquired by overexposure to airborne manganese. It affects the sufferer’s central nervous system, leaving them with symptoms very similar to Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis (MS).
The disease was first recognised among miners in Scotland back in 1835. In the United States welders have accused manufacturers of failing to provide adequate warning that their products could cause welding fumes to contain dangerously high manganese concentrations that could lead to manganism.
It was after the SABC’s April 2005 Special Assignment report that ”we decided to investigate our employees specifically for manganism” and by the end of 2005 had introduced a monitoring system.
Broekman also told the inquiry that on March 23 another five people had been diagnosed with manganism and another seven people were undergoing testing for manganism.
He said the similarity of its symptoms to multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease made diagnosis difficult.
Assmang, which has a staff of nearly 700 at the Cato Ridge plant, manufactures various ferro-manganese alloys and earns revenues of nearly R1,6-billion per annum. Almost 90% of its output is exported.
Broekman said the company had recently completed a R100-million ”dust and fumes alleviation project”.
Lawyers for nearly 40 former Assmang workers, who claimed to suffer from manganism, are expected to address the inquiry on Friday. – Sapa