SOUTH AFRICA

Once considered to be the backbone of the country's economy, gold mines have become a health hazard for mineworkers. Thousands of mineworkers in the country could be suffering from serious chest diseases as a result of working underground in the gold mines. The workers are left to fend for themselves as they get no compensation from mine owners. The epidemiology research unit in Johannesburg carried out an occupational health study in Libode district of Eastern Cape, a rural area from where most of the labour force migrates to the gold mining industry. Fifty-five per cent of them were found to be suffering from pneumoconiosis