BackgroundAbsenteeism is a global problem in the working force and this is no exception in the nursing profession. Much attention has been drawn to factors that contribute to absenteeism; however, little attention has been placed on the effects of absenteeism on nurses remaining on duty by their colleagues. Nurses absent themselves leaving behind their colleagues to execute their part of work.ObjectivesTo investigate the effects of absenteeism on nurses who remained on duty at a tertiary hospital in Limpopo province.MethodA quantitative descriptive research approach was chosen to enable the researchers to achieve the research aim. Data collected using structured questionnaires were analysed by descriptive statistics.ResultsThe findings indicated that absenteeism has an effect on both the nurses’ psychological and professional well-being, as well as the quality of patient care provided as a result of psychological stress, low morale of nurses and increased workload. The study further revealed the provision of substandard care to patients by those nurses who are remaining on duty, resulting in risk of medical errors that could jeopardise their professional credibility. Therefore, absenteeism creates an unhealthy working environment for nurses remaining on duty.ConclusionNurse managers should provide platforms to address psychological and professional problems experienced by nurses remaining on duty. The study further recommends the introduction of policies that would address absenteeism in the workplace and how nurses who remain on duty could be assisted with the workload of colleagues who continuously absent themselves.

Penge is an asbestos-contaminated area with a high incidence of asbestos-related diseases amongst its residents due to exposure to airborne asbestos fibres. The following paper presents an assessment of asbestos fibre exposure in the ambient air of the area. The objective of the study was to quantify the level of airborne asbestos fibre concentration in an endeavour to understand the health risk to which residents are exposed. The study was carried out based on air analyses data of the area acquired from the Council for Geoscience as well as health risk assessment techniques guided by the Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund (EPA, 1989). It was found that the average asbestos fibre concentration in the ambient air of the study area was 0.047 f/mL which is lower than the 0.2 f/mL limit stipulated by the South African government. However, the asbestos fibre concentration in ambient air of the study area is much higher than the 0.0005 f/mL limit stipulated by the World Health Organization. The average cancer risk for all age groups in the study area was 2.08 × 10 −3 . When compared with the Environmental Protection Agency National Contingency Plan standard which accepts the risks within the range between 10 −4 (0.0001) and 10 −6 (0.000001), it was found that the results obtained in the study area generally exceed the standard. It is recommended that all of the sources of asbestos in the area be rehabilitated.