UPS: - JANETTA BEKKER; WIFE - “This is my husband Lucas Bekker he is sick for 9 years with manganese poisoning very ”

UPS: - SUSAN TAGER/NEUROLOGIST: - Any person working with manganese from the time that is mined until it is processed that person is at risk.

UPS: - JANETTA BEKKER: - He is going to get the fit now. I am going to inject him with antijan for the fit. Sometimes three hours, sometimes it takes half an hour it depends on how big the fit is

PRE - TITLE: DANGEROUS EXPOSURE

UPS: - VOICER – Lucas Bekker suffers from manganese poisoning. He says he got it by breathing in manganese dust at SAMANCOR. He worked there for 11 years.

UPS: - SUSAN TAGER -  Once the person has inhaled it and inhaled the large amount of it, it get absorbed into the blood stream and in certain individuals it get deposited in very specific sights in the brain where then in causes neurological  problems.

UPS: - VOICER: - Janetta Bekker and her two children have had to cope with her husband’s condition for the past nine years.

UPS: - JANETTA BEKKER - “We’ve got two children my boy is std 9 and my girl is std 6. But when she was five years old my husband became ill at this stage they don’t have a very good relationship with.

UPS: - SUSAN TAGER - Usually the initial are symptoms non-specific, tiredness muscle pain joint pain forgetfulness depression that is the acute stage following that one can get what we call psychotic features where a person actually develops hallucination dillusion and becomes psychotic some of the symptoms are like Parkinson diseases where they develop shaking of the hands difficult walking stiffness of the limbs reduce expression in the face.

UPS: - JANETTA BEKKER - They can’t even walk backwards you can try it for yourself. I just want you to see that. People of manganese can’t do that you can even test that other man.

UPS: - SUSAN TAGER - That is the late stage of manganese poisoning that is irreversible so if patience are diagnosed in that stage even if they are taken away from the environment where they had been exposed they will not improve. And in fact some may even detororiate even after they had been form exposure.

UPS: - VOICER - We visited the SAMANCOR processing plant in Meyerton, South of Johannesburg. We weren’t allowed to film inside, but were given an interview with management.

UPS: - BERNARD KATOMPA/VICE PRESIDENT; SAMANCOR - Manganese is a naturally occurring metal which is mainly used in the steel industry. We have in SA almost 80% of the world resources based in the Kalahari, we bring it here where it is processed, converted into alloy and the alloy is the end product which is used in the steel industry

UPS: VOICER – Small amounts of manganese occur naturally in the human body and everyone is exposed to tiny doses of it in air, water and food. However exposure to excessive amounts may be devastating.

UPS: - VOICER – 33 year old Stefanus Glaus suffered permanent brain damage as a result of such exposure. An x-ray clearly shows dust on his brain.

UPS: - STEFANUS GLAUS/FORMER WORKER - I worked at Samancor for 7 yrs, I was a foreman and I worked at all 3 plants south, north and west plant. It was in 2004 in October at Samancor one Saturday and I was seeing just the sea and I wanted to swim and I see the dolphins and I wanted to take off my jacket and one of the guys came to me and he said what are you doing and I said I want to swim.

UPS: - VOICER – Glaus has to survive on a cocktail of 12 tablets a day.

UPS: - STEFANUS GLAUS - Everyday it gets worse and worse. The doctor gave me medication but the medication is just there for the symptoms when I stop the medication it is all over again.

UPS: - VOICER - 45 Years old Peet Kaalsen lives in the same neighbourhood. He contracted manganism after working for only nine months at the Meyerton plant, as a fitter.

 UPS: - PEET KAALSEN/FORMER WORKER - I only worked there for nine months up to the 31st of March 2003. We was walking from the conveyor belt up to the workshop my legs felt like jelly and felt like my legs could not carry my weight anymore so I fell down on a the ground and they picked me up there and carried me to the medical station and and that’s the first time I really felt ill then I went for an appointment at Dr Buller and  then he reckoned that most probably it could be manganese toxicity.

UPS: - VOICER – While we’re busy with the interview Peet suffers an epileptic seizure.

UPS: - ELNA KAALSEN/WIFE - I have to inject him when he gets ill, he gets Parkinsons, or take him to doctor quickly or I inject him myself… sometimes he gets attacks in the bath and then I have to take him out myself and take him to bed. He sometimes gets a bit aggressive, moody, cramps, he can’t remember, he gets severe headaches sometimes he cries from the pain.

UPS: - PEET KAALSEN - Sometimes I get two attacks per day and it drains my body.

UPS: - ELNA KAALSEN; WIFE - Does that feel better?

UPS: - PEET KAALSEN - Now those people refuse to take responsibility. I can’t see how they can get away with this.

AD BREAK 1

UPS: - VOICER – These are retrenched workers and widows of former employees of SAMANCOR. They claim that they’re suffering that they’re dying form illnesses which suggest manganese poisoning. They say the company retrenched them after a medical study showed high levels of manganese in their blood.

UPS: - MONICA MABANGA/NGO WORKER - In 1999 the University of Cape Town students were doing research about manganese that is why they went to Samancor. They tested urine, hair took X-ray of the workers blood and they tested it

UPS: - ESEKIAL MOTSEKI/RETRENCHED WORKER - I worked at Samancor for 13 yrs. I was at the laboratory doing sampling there until 2001 when they retrenched us. But before they retrenched us they make manganese testing to us.

UPS: - VOICER - SAMANCOR says this is not true.

UPS: - BERNARD KATOMPA/VICE PRES. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER SAMANCOR - The retrenchment process which took place in 2001 was solely initiated because of the competition in the marketplace, infact what happened was we retrenched 840 people at that point in time but because of the strategy to outsource non-core activities more than fifty percent of the people who were retrenched were reemployed by the contractors

UPS: - ESEKIAL MOTSEKI - I think they found out the manganese is very high in the people, because the company decide to retrench the workers after that manganese

UPS: - BERNARD KATOMPA - There was no link between the health study and the retrenchment, the retrenchment as I mentioned was solely based on repressed market conditions and competition. We initiated the study, we funded the study, it even came out inconclusive

UPS: - ESEKIAL MOTSEKI - Most of them died so they became aware that there is something wrong with them because everytime when they meet some of them is dead. We wanted to know why because their symptoms are the same. The thing that I have noticed about them is their mind they forget.

UPS: - DR DAVID REES/NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH -Manganese is being well shown to cause lung problems. People exposed to manganese have more pneumonia and bronchitis than other people…its well accepted to cause brain damage and in severe cases in chronic exposure it also affect the reproductive system in men. The brain damage is really the thing that concerns us the most basically life wrecking for many people well for people who have serious manganese poisoning.

UPS: - RICHARD SPOOR/LABOUR LAWYER - The first indication of the disease in manganism might be the change in personality noted by his family his wife. The guy got bad temper has poor memory, he is moody he is depressed and these are subtle changes but they have very serious consequences for the worker

UPS: - EZEKIAL MOTSEKI - While I was still working there that where I that is where I started having this sickness of falling they call it epilepsy. Then Samancor take me to medical bureau but they did not tell me what is the problem.

UPS: - RICHARD SPOOR/LAWYER - At the first sign of disease picked up through periodic examinations we find that these workers are discharged. The first opportunity to get rid of these workers the employers take that opportunity before the disease become so bad that it becomes a statistic for them that they have to deal with

UPS: - BERNARD KATOMPA/SAMANCOR -They first came to see us in July 2003 and we gave them our full cooperation and we did at that point in time ask them to bring to us anyone they knew who had any occupational illness that has not taken place.

UPS: - VOICER – Both these women lost their husbands recently. They believe that the deaths are related to exposure to Manganese dust.

UPS: - ROSE NGWENYA/WIDOW - Simon Ngwenya  worked for Samancor for 30yrs and he became ill in 1998, all that year he was very ill. He didn’t what he’s saying he say his body was painful and then he died. The company give me nothing I must struggle with the child I’m alone I must bury the man I’ve got no money.

UPS: - RICHARD SPOOR/LABOUR LAWYER - In SA we have literally hundreds and thousands of ex-mine workers and steelworkers, manganese workers who are suffering from chronic illness, lung disease, neurological damage, heavy metal poisoning, and a range of other conditions associated with their work.

UPS: - SUSAN TAGER/NEUROLOGIST - Symptoms may be wrongly attributed to manganese poisoning in the early stages in the late stages you can’t fake it

UPS: - JANETTA BEKKER - These people can’t even pull out their tongues. They face show no expression you can see it is like a mask there is no expression

UPS: - SUSAN TAGER - In the early stages it can be very difficult it can and it can be confusing and patience can be incorrectly labelled as having manganese poisoning.

UPS: VOICER – But many are sceptical about the claims filed by the Sebokeng group of retrenched workers.

UPS: - PROF DAVID REES; NATIONA INSTIUTE FOR OCCUPATION HEALTH - You know I think it is unlikely that the majority of them are affected by manganese, there may be a small subset, it  is unlikely that manganese would lead to a wide variety of diseases and deaths that are not clearly from the kind of conditions that are linked to manganese . 

UPS: - RICHARD SPOOR/LABOUR LAWYER - The Sebokeng workers must keep up their campaign and I think the demand has to be for the company to agree to the appointment of a medical panel an independent expert panel to once we know what is wrong with these workers we will be in a position to engage with the company about what kind of reasonable measures need to be taken to compensate these workers for the harm they’ve suffered

AD BREAK 2

UPS: - VOICER – Stefanus Glaus arrives at the Johannesburg general hospital for medication.

UPS: - STEFANUS GLAUS - We must stand in long rows there. Everytime when we must get medicine we must stand in long rows and some of the months there are no medication.

UPS: - VOICER – Because he’s in a wheelchair this morning, service is quicker than usual. It’s a long and stressful day outside the parking lot, Stefan Glaus has an epileptic fit.

UPS: - STEFANUS GLAUS - I can’t drive anymore I can’t walk alone my wife must be by me 24 hours a day because I might get a fit and she must inject me.

UPS: - VOICER – Both Peet Kaalsen and Glaus were working for contractors. This means SAMANCOR is not liable for their condition.

UPS: - PEET KAALSEN - From Samancor’s side they just pull up their shoulders and I was a contractor and they don’t have a case with me anymore  The workmen’s compensation only found me 35% disabled to do my work but I cant see how I’m  going  do my work like a normal human  being. They only paid me out 31-thousand rand in a lump sum and I’m receiving one thousand 800 rand and twenty two a month pension wise then we have to buy the ampuls from the dispensary the ampuls are not expensive but  antijan is around R200 so that is quite expensive and then this excludes the needles and injectors

UPS: - VOICER – Glaus is worried. He is still waiting to be boarded.

UPS: - STEFANUS GLAUS - And I’ve got my report and my X-rays of my brain that I’m 100%. And I don’t know what they are going to do  they also going to board me 35%  if they are going to board me 35%  then I don’t  have nothing left. 

UPS: - BERNARD KATOMPA – The company is not direct employer of these people. These people were employed by conctractors who provide us with services. What we are currently doing is I said is to work through their employers so that they can be offered the support from that…there is no legal obligation for the company to be involved financially in these things

UPS: - VOICER – Lucas Bekker’s situation is different. He was a permanent employee at SAMANCOR. He receives a monthly pension and a 75% disability grant.

UPS: - JANETTA BEKKER – Samancor is very good for us they pay all our medical bills all our travelling fees, they even pay for the psychiatrist for my and my children so on the company’s behalf they do what they can for us

UPS: - VOICER – Currently the department of labour is conducting an investigation into the claims of manganese poisoning at SAMANCOR.

UPS: - RICHARD SPOOR - In SA law the system depends entirely on policing that is because there are no civil remedies for workers who suffer harm in SA workers are barred by law from suing their employer. So if there is going to be any accountability on the part of the employers it has to be via policing mechanisms, and there we depending on the dept of labour or the dept of mineral and energy to enforce health and safety standards in the workplace now its almost impossible for an outsider or an inspector to police the safe operation of a large and complex industrial plant.

UPS: - BERNARD KATOMPA - We have been operating for 54 yrs during this period in time we have come across five cases of manganism and one possible case which is still under investigation 

UPS: - VOICER –Breathing in manganese dust is the main source of exposure. Because of this, limits have been set by government to protect workers’ health. 

UPS: - BERNARD KATOMPA - The levels of exposure as specified by SA we have 5mg/cm in dust

UPS: - DAVID REES - Our current statutory level is 5mg/cm which is twenty times higher than the benchmark level in the USA clearly it speaks for itself it is too high

UPS: - DAVID REES - A lot of factories which have the potential for manganese exposure are not measuring manganese properly and therefore they don’t really have a leg to stand on

UPS: - BERNARD KATYOMPA - When people join us we take them through an induction program where all the risks associated with the business activities are explained to them.

UPS: - PEET KAALSEN - I went for an induction course they never mentioned that there is a possibility that you can inhale the manganese dust here at the end of the day you are suffering from the manganese toxicity.

UPS: - SUSAN TAGER - We don’t know what predisposes any individual to developing the disease you could take ten individuals all working for many years with very high blood levels and not all of them will go on and develop the disease.

UPS: DAVID REES - There is just no accountability no consequences for the employers for killing people that is it.

UPS: - While medical experts across the world are grappling with this puzzling disease, victims like Stephanus Glaus, Ezekial Motseki, Peet Kaalsen and Lucas Bekker, wioll never enjoy a normal family life agian.

TITLE: THE DEPT. OF LABOUR REFUSED TO COMMENT UNTIL THE COMPLETION OF THEIR INVESTIGATION….

THE END

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