Costs of occupational lung disease in South African gold mining

Trapido, A. S. M.; Goode, Richard H.; White, Neil W.

doi:10.1080/14041049809409131

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Two studies, in Botswana [Steen et al, 1997] and the Eastern Cape province of South Africa [Trapido et al, 1998a], demonstrate the high rates of silicosis in former gold miners living in remote labor-sending areas and significant failure to provide workers compensation (Table II). Assuming similar disease and compensation failure percentages in the total population of former miners as in the Eastern Cape sample results in an estimated 288,000 cases of compensable pneumoconiosis and an estimated 10 billion Rand (ZAR) in unpaid compensation liability at 1998 values; much more in today's terms [Trapido et al, 1998b]. White [1997] estimated that 96,200 compensable silicosis cases in gold miners were not reported from 1973 to the late 1990s.…”

Section: Silicosismentioning

confidence: 99%

Oscillating migration and the epidemics of silicosis, tuberculosis, and HIV infection in South African gold miners

Rees

Murray

Nelson

et al. 2009

American J Industrial Med

106

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Section: Silicosismentioning

confidence: 99%

Oscillating migration and the epidemics of silicosis, tuberculosis, and HIV infection in South African gold miners

Rees

Murray

Nelson

et al. 2009

American J Industrial Med

106

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“…Based on these local prevalences, on the actual number of compensation awards for pneumoconiosis between 1973 and 1997, and on some educated guess work about the number of living mineworkers throughout Southern Africa, Trapido et al [1998b] estimated a liability of unpaid silicosis compensation of R9.96 billion in 1998.…”

Section: Funding and Compensation Paymentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A century of miners' compensation in South Africa

Ehrlich

2012

American J Industrial Med

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The year 2011 marked the centenary of compensation legislation for miners' lung disease in South Africa. This commentary aims to demonstrate that the current compensation system does not serve its intended beneficiaries, particularly the large population of former gold miners affected by high rates of silicosis and tuberculosis. The system has a complex legislative history, reflecting contending political, and economic forces, and characterized by racial discrimination. The financial basis of the system is currently in crisis owing to historical underfunding and failure to take into account the mounting burden of disease among black former miners. The real value of compensation awards fell sharply between 1973 and 1993, only partly recovering in recent years. Barriers to claiming benefits, particularly by black former miners who know little about the process, have been extensively documented. Integration of miners' compensation into general workers' compensation has been mooted since the 1980s but has stalled, owing to the high cost of closing the gap between the mostly inferior financial benefits under the mining legislation and those available under workers' compensation legislation. A recent constitutional court decision has opened the way for unprecedented civil litigation against the gold mining industry for silicosis, adding to the pressure for reform. A number of changes are called for: harmonization of financial benefits with retention of certain of the special arrangements for miner claims, a regional cross‐border system of medical examination points for former miners, education of miners about the system, and some degree of privatization of claims processing. Am. J. Ind. Med. 55:560–569, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…Both government inefficiency and mining company influence has resulted in the denial or withholding of compensation for the majority of miners and former miners who are eligible. Trapido et al conducted a detailed ana lysis of the costs of occupational lung disease associated with gold mining among miners and ex-miners employed in South Africa between 1973 and 1997 and estimated that among that population of 2 million people, there are approximately 480,000 cases of compensatable silicosis and 226,000 cases of gold mining-attributable TB [9].…”

Section: "Several Studies Have Shown the Difficulties Former Minermentioning

confidence: 99%