Optimum construction worker (CW) performance is required to achieve project delivery within project parameters. It is not always the case as CWs are regularly exposed to hazards, involved in accidents, their productivity is poor, they suffer from ill health, suffer from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and contractors lack resources to allocate towards H&S. However, the lack or the absence of health and safety (H&S) measures, which the aforementioned depend on, has a negative impact on workers’ performance. Two descriptive surveys were conducted among professional construction project managers (CPMs) registered with the South African Council for Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP) and general contractors (GCs) registered with the East Cape Master Builders Association (ECMBA). Interviews were also conducted with CPMs registered with the SACPCMP residing in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan area. The salient findings include: • Accidents, which occur on construction sites, impact workers’ performance; • Inadequate H&S implementation affects both CW skills and motivation, which in turn affects their performance; • Poor constructability is relevant to H&S and CWs’ skills; • Provision and maintenance of welfare facilities are commonly inadequate and affect workers’ performance, and • Projects do not benefit from the adequate financial provision for H&S. It was concluded that exposure to hazards, poor site conditions, inadequate provision of welfare facilities, WMSDs, and insufficient financial provision for H&S affect workers’ performance by either incapacitating or demotivating them. Recommendations include : CPMs should make better use of their influence on clients; they should improve communication channels between project stakeholders; legislators need to raise awareness regarding H&S and worker welfare, and training and education institutions need to empower workers and professionals with H&S knowledge.

No description available.

Phthalate esters (PEs) belong to a class of organic compounds used as plasticisers in plastic materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and so on, including those used in the food packaging industry. Phthalate plasticisers are not chemically bound to plastic materials and hence, migrate into items such as foodstuffs they house. The study aimed at investigating the prevalence of selected phthalate esters from plastic wrappers into food as well as the presence of food and/or pathogenic microorganisms. Plastic-wrapped cheese, vienna sausages and polony samples purchased from commercial stores in the four regions of Pretoria (Tswane), South Africa, were analysed for the presence of plasticisers; di-2-ethylhexyl adipate (DEHA), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), benzyl-butyl phthalate (BBP), di-butyl phthalate (DBP) and dimethyl phthalate (DMP). Soxhlet extraction using hexane with florisil column cleanup was carried out. Analysis of PEs was by Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detection (GC-FID). Microbiological investigations were performed using standard methods. The concentrations of PEs detected in food samples ranged from below detection limit (bdl) to 4.7003 μg/kg. However, DBP, DMP and BBP were predominantly present with more PEs detected in cheese compared to polony and vienna. In polony samples, DBP levels ranged from 0.0412 to 0.611μg/kg, in cheese, ranged from 0.049 to 0.256 μg/kg and in vienna DBP ranged from 0.074 to 0.209 μg/kg. The phthalate DMP ranged from 0.072 to 4.700 μg/kg in cheese, 0.056 to 0.241 μg/kg in polony and 0.092 to 0.816 μg/kg in vienna. The DEHA detected in cheese and polony was 0.120 μg/kg and 0.075 μg/kg respectively and no DEHA was detected in vienna sausages. For microbiological analysis, the total microbial activity (TMA) ranged from 6.8 x 104 to 1.03 x 108 cfu/g; coliforms ranged from no growth to 2.62 x 106 cfu/g; yeast ranged from no growth to 1.49 x 107 cfu/g; and mould ranged from no growth to 9.2 x 104 cfu/g. The results revealed that microbial activity was high in each sample type but revealed the absence of pathogens. Results revealed incidences of PEs in foods wrapped or packaged in plastics, which gave cause for concern and showed the need for proper monitoring and inspection of the levels of organo-microbial entities in the South African food wrapped in plastic wrappers. / Environmental Sciences / M.Sc. (Environmental Science)

Phthalate esters (PEs) belong to a class of organic compounds used as plasticisers in plastic materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and so on, including those used in the food packaging industry. Phthalate plasticisers are not chemically bound to plastic materials and hence, migrate into items such as foodstuffs they house. The study aimed at investigating the prevalence of selected phthalate esters from plastic wrappers into food as well as the presence of food and/or pathogenic microorganisms. Plastic-wrapped cheese, vienna sausages and polony samples purchased from commercial stores in the four regions of Pretoria (Tswane), South Africa, were analysed for the presence of plasticisers; di-2-ethylhexyl adipate (DEHA), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), benzyl-butyl phthalate (BBP), di-butyl phthalate (DBP) and dimethyl phthalate (DMP). Soxhlet extraction using hexane with florisil column cleanup was carried out. Analysis of PEs was by Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detection (GC-FID). Microbiological investigations were performed using standard methods. The concentrations of PEs detected in food samples ranged from below detection limit (bdl) to 4.7003 μg/kg. However, DBP, DMP and BBP were predominantly present with more PEs detected in cheese compared to polony and vienna. In polony samples, DBP levels ranged from 0.0412 to 0.611μg/kg, in cheese, ranged from 0.049 to 0.256 μg/kg and in vienna DBP ranged from 0.074 to 0.209 μg/kg. The phthalate DMP ranged from 0.072 to 4.700 μg/kg in cheese, 0.056 to 0.241 μg/kg in polony and 0.092 to 0.816 μg/kg in vienna. The DEHA detected in cheese and polony was 0.120 μg/kg and 0.075 μg/kg respectively and no DEHA was detected in vienna sausages. For microbiological analysis, the total microbial activity (TMA) ranged from 6.8 x 104 to 1.03 x 108 cfu/g; coliforms ranged from no growth to 2.62 x 106 cfu/g; yeast ranged from no growth to 1.49 x 107 cfu/g; and mould ranged from no growth to 9.2 x 104 cfu/g. The results revealed that microbial activity was high in each sample type but revealed the absence of pathogens. Results revealed incidences of PEs in foods wrapped or packaged in plastics, which gave cause for concern and showed the need for proper monitoring and inspection of the levels of organo-microbial entities in the South African food wrapped in plastic wrappers. / Environmental Sciences / M.Sc. (Environmental Science)

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Technology: Environmental Health, Durban University of Technology, 2017. / Shift work is a necessity for many organizations. Reasons for shift work are mainly to ensure continuous and optimized operations. Many studies on shift workers have concluded that it can lead to adverse physiological, social and psychological health effects. This study examines challenges associated with working shifts at a biscuits manufacturing factory. Results should be able to assist the employer in implementing effective interventions directed at limiting the negative effects of shift work on employees. This is a convergent parallel design multi method stud among 152 shift workers in a biscuits manufacturer located in Durban, KwaZulu Natal. An abbreviated and modified form of the validated SSI questionnaire was used (Barton et al. 1995). The questionnaire contained a battery of items designed to examine the relationship of health and personal adjustment to shift work. Owing to the exploratory nature of the study, a focus group methodology was also used and this allowed for in-depth qualitative research which catered for a more comprehensive understanding of the current shift work issues. A retrospective review of injury records of employees who sustained occupational injuries between 2012 and 2013 was also conducted. The sample comprised of 85 (56%) males and 63 (42%) females. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between shift work and the likelihood of sleep disturbance, poor health outcomes and limited time for social and domestic activities, adjusting for age, sex, partner working, years working night shift, marital status, job class and years employed. Odds ratio (OR) for reported sleep disturbance was slightly higher among women (OR=1.65; 95% CI = 0.25; 10.84; p < 0.05) compared to males, but this was not statistically significant. Longer shift work experience (i.e.11-20 years) was significantly associated with better health status (OR=0.18; 95%CI = 0.06; 0.46; p < 0.05). Shift work experience (11 to 20 years) was also found to be significantly associated with limited time for both social (OR = 0.10; 95%CI = 0.03; 0.30) and domestic activities (OR= 0.25; 95% CI = 0.11; 0.57; p < 0.05) (Table 4). Age had no effect on social and domestic activities, but those 40 years and above were more likely to have limited time for social and domestic activities (OR = 3.06; 95%CI =0.60; 15.60 and OR= 2.5; 95%CI=0.47; 13.06). Those with more shift work experience seemed to have more time for social and domestic activities compared to those with less than 10 years experience. Findings from the FGD’s revealed that most participants (91%) did not get sufficient sleep time after night shift; this was mainly because of the chores they had to do after getting home form night shift and disturbances from the household and neighbours. The average time spent sleeping by majority of participants after night shift was 5 hours. Swollen feet, gastric, sleep disorders, indigestion and headaches were some common complaints experienced by shift workers in this study. About 27% of participants reported to have been injured at work before. These incidents were reported to be related to drowsiness and fatigue. The company’s incident records showed a total of 160 injuires between 2012 and 2013, of which 38 occurred during night shift. In 2012, the company recorded 65 injuries which included 51 first aid (FA) injuries, 6 minor injuries (MI) and 8 lost time (LT) injuries, as categorized by the company. 2013 had the highest number of incidents, with 95 total injuries, averaging to 7.9 injuries annually. There were 84 first aid incidents recorded for year 2013, 9 minor injuries and only 2 lost time injuries. Twenty three percent (15, n=65) incidents occurred during night shift in year 2012, of which 11% (7, n=65) were females. The number of night shift incidents slightly increased to 24% (23, n=95) in 2013 and females accounted for 9.40%. The records showed that majority of injuries happened between 17h00 and 21h00 at night. Results of this study provides evidence that shift work impacts negatively on the lives of the employees and can lead to adverse health outcomes such as poor dietary intake, headaches and swollen feet to mention but a few. / M

submitted in fulfilment of the academic requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science in Food Science and Technology, Durban University of Technology, 2015. / Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a major health problem in sub-Saharan Africa where maize is a staple food. Amahewu, a fermented non-alcoholic,maize-based beverage is a popular drink in southern Africa.The aim of this study is to produce a provitamin A enriched and acceptable amahewu, using provitamin A biofortified maize which can be used to alleviate VAD. The optimal processing parameters for the production of amahewu using provitamin A-biofortified maize were determined. Amahewu samples were prepared with reference to a traditional method by boiling a mixture of maize meal and water (rato:1:7) at 90ᴼC, with occasional stirring, for 15 minutes. The resulting porridge was left to cool to approximately 40ᴼC, before inoculation and fermentation at 37oC. Processing parameters investigated were inoculum types (wheat bran (WB), maize malt (MM) and Lactobacillus mixed starter culture) and inoculum concentration (0.5,1 and 2% (w/w)) and varieties of provitamin A maize (PVAH 62 and PVAH 19). Wheat flour (at 2%) was used as reference inoculum to conform to the traditional practice. White maize amahewu samples processed in the same way as those of provitamin A-biofortified maize were used as references. Provitamin A amahewu samples were produced using the optimized processing parameters and then analysed for nutrient composition, including carotenoids, protein, ash, amino acids, mineral profile and invitro protein digestibility. The consumer acceptability of amahewu samples was evaluated using regular consumers of amahewu (n= 54), who rated the acceptability of the samples on a 9-point hedonic scale (1:disliked extremely, 9:liked extremely). The storage stability of the provitamin A biofortified amahewu samples was assessed by subjecting the samples to different storage conditions: 4ᴼC, 25ᴼC and 37ᴼC. The microbiological quality of the stored samples was monitored by taking samples every day for a period of five days to analyse for the presence of aerobic and anaerobic bacterial spore formers, E.coli and moulds. The provitamin A maize variety did not influence pH and Total titratable acidity (TTA) of amahewu samples during fermentation. As expected, there was a substantial drop in pH with fermentation time. After 24 hours, all the samples of amahewu, including those made with white maize, prepared using malted maize and wheat bran inocula reached a pH of 3.3-3.8 and TTA of 0.3-0.6, which were within acceptable range for amahewu. The addition of a starter culture substantially reduced fermentation time, from 24 to six hours. The inoculum of WB and MM, respectively, at a concentration of 0.5%, with or without starter culture (5%), were found to be suitable for the production of amahewu using provitamin A biofortified maize. The total provitamin A content of amahewu samples, produced using optimised parameters (i.e one variety of provitamin A biofortified maize, 0.5% MM, WB with or without starter culture), ranged from 3.3-3.8 μg/g (DW). The percentage retention of total provitamin A ranged from 79%- 90% (DW). The lowest percentage retention was observed in products fermented with the addition of starter culture. The gross energy of the amahewu samples was approx. 20 MJ/kg. There was a slight increase in the lysine content of amahewu after fermentation. The protein digestibility (approx. 91%) of amahewu samples was slightly higher than that of raw provitamin A maize (86%). Amahewu processed using starter cultures had a slightly higher iron content than those processed without a starter culture. Consumer acceptability data showed that amahewu samples made with provitamin A biofortified maize were slightly more acceptable (average rating for overall acceptability was 7.0 ± 1.2), compared to those made with white maize (average rating for overall acceptability was 6.4 ± 0.8). Principal component analysis (PCA) of Amahewu sensory data showed that 71% of variation was due to maize types and 18% of variation may be due to the inoculum used during fermentation. The use of a starter culture improves the taste and aroma acceptability of amahewu. Segmentation of consumers based on overall linking for amahewu revealed three clusters, named A, B and C. Cluster A consisted of most consumers (43%), who liked amahewu moderately. About 60% of these consumers were females. Cluster B consisted of most of the consumers (31%) who were undecided about their liking for the product. Approximately 52% of the consumers in this cluster were female. Cluster C consisted of consumers (26%) who liked amahewu very much. Sixty-four percent (64%) of these consumers were female. It appeared that gender may have some influence on overall liking for amahewu, as cluster B, consisting of undecided consumers, had more male consumers compared to clusters A and C. Age did not seem to be significantly associated with the liking of amahewu. Provitamin A biofortified amahewu samples stored under refrigerated conditions (4ᴼC) had better microbiological quality compared to those stored at 25ᴼC and 37ᴼC. Refrigeration effectively maintains the microbiological quality of amahewu for about three of days. Provitamin A biofortified maize can be used to produce β-carotene enriched amahewu that is acceptable to consumers following the processing method that is traditionally employed for white amahewu at both domestic and commercial level. Provitamin A biofortified amahewu has the potential to make a significant contribution towards alleviating VAD among rural communities, who are the most vulnerable to VAD.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of Demography and Population Studies. / Background: In exploring the relationship between migration and HIV/AIDS, a focus of earlier studies was on the role of the mobile population in the geographical spread of the disease. There has been a shift in this perception and the focus now is on the implications of being a migrant. A body of literature has developed on the risk of migrants contracting HIV, but only a few studies have examined the AIDS/TB mortality risk as a consequence of migration, with the results showing that migrants have higher chance of dying of AIDS/TB compared to their non-migrant counterparts. However, these studies mainly looked at the impact of migration on mortality due to AIDS/TB and did not make provision for the presence of other causes of death. Therefore, this study is geared towards investigating migration as it relates to death caused by AIDS/TB, longitudinally, and in the presence of other causes such as non communicable diseases, other infectious diseases, and external causes of death, in rural South Africa. Specifically, the study addressed the following questions: (i) What is the risk of dying from AIDS/TB among migrants in rural South Africa in the presence of other causes of death? (ii) How does this relationship compare with the relationship between migration and other causes of death? (3) What are possible predictors of the relationship between migration and AIDS/TB in the presence of other causes of death? Method: This research project is part of a longitudinal study of the inhabitants of the Agincourt sub-district, situated in the rural north-eastern part of South Africa. The study utilises the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System data spanning 12 years, starting from 1st January, 2000 to 31st December, 2011. The main target group for the study is individuals aged 20 to 69 years at the date of analysis. The selected individuals are divided into the following categories: (i) the return migrants who returned after spending a period of time outside the study area; (ii) the in-migrants who moved into the study location for the first time, and (iii) the permanent residents (non migrants). A six month residence threshold period is used to distinguish participants from ordinary visitors. The migration status categorical variable was further expanded from three to five categories with in-migrant and return migrant categories being split to accommodate short and long-term durations of exposure. In the year 2000, the baseline year, a total of 25,621 individuals who met the entry criteria were recruited into the study. For data analysis, a Fine and Gray model is used, which is a variant of a Cox proportional hazard model, to estimate the competing risk of dying among the selected participants by sex. The causes of death (CoD) variable was categorised into the following broad categories: “AIDS/TB”, “Non Communicable Disease”, “External cause” and “Other infectious disease”, with indeterminate causes coded as missing. The five categories of migration serve as the independent variable, with permanent residence acting as the reference group, while the broad Cause of Death categories are the main dependent variables. Other dependent variables are: period, nationality, education and socio-economic status. Results: This first set of results aims to address the question on the risk of AIDS/TB mortality among migrants in rural South Africa in the presence of other causes of death. The findings are that male and female short-term return migrants have significantly higher relative risk of dying of AIDS/TB death when compared to their non-migrants counterparts with sub-hazard ratio (SHR) of 4.87 (95% CI 4.17-5.72; P<0.001) and 5.44 (95% CI 4.64-6.38; P<0.001)) reported for both gender group respectively. For male and female long-term return migrants, their SHR was 1.80 (95% CI 1.43-2.26; P<0.001) and 2.06 (95% CI 1.57-2.70; P<0.001) respectively. The results did not reveal significant results for the in-migrants. The second set of results aims to address the second research question, which is, how does the relationship between migration and mortality caused by AIDS/TB in rural South Africa in the context of other causes of death compare with the relationship between migration and causes different from AIDS/TB. The results show that Short-term return migrants have higher mortality than non-migrants, whatever the four causes of mortality. For instance, the competing risk of death due to AIDS/TB for short-term return migrants compared to non-migrants showed a lower SHR for external cause of death, namely 8.78 (95% CI 5.86-13.16; P<0.05) vis-à-vis non-migrants. This implies that the difference in the relative risk of mortality between migrants and non migrants is even higher for external causes than for AIDS/TB. The same is applicable to the risk of death from other infectious diseases for females, which has a SHR of 4.97 (95% CI 2.50-9.89; P<0.05) in the competing risk model. The relative risk of death due to AIDS/TB for male is 4.87 (95% CI 4.14-5.72 P<0.001) while that of female is 5.44 (95% CI 4.64-6.38; P<0.001); respectively. With regards to the question on the possible predictors of the relationship between migration and AIDS/TB in the presence of other causes of death, it is shown that period is one of the predictors of the relationship between migration and AIDS/TB mortality. And, it is relevant to the study participants who died as a result of AIDS/TB, NCDs and other infectious diseases. In general, the risk dwindles in the latter period when the antiretroviral drugs become available for AIDS/TB. Nationality is also a determinant of the relationship and it is applicable to those who lost their lives due AIDS/TB (female only), NCDs and other infections (female). In all, the Mozambican nationals are less likely to die in comparison with the South Africans. Educational status is a predictor and it relevance cuts across virtually all the causes of death. The dominant pattern that is revealed in this context is that the higher the level of education, the lower the risk of death due to any of the causes. The predictive impact of SES can only be felt among the respondents whose death was due to AIDS/TB and NCDs (female only). Conclusion: With circular labour migration in South Africa showing no evidence of declining and with the attendant mortality risks due to AIDS/TB and other causes, and needs to be carefully considered - in policies aiming to control mortality in South Africa. Disease-induced migration creates burdens not only for the left-behind families in terms of their means of livelihood through loss of remittances, but also for the burden on health care facilities in the rural area. With short-term labour migrants being a high risk group, the success of intervention programmes addressing the problem of HIV infection and the resultant mortality implication, such as ‘treatment as prevention’ programmes, can only be guaranteed by recognising the risks incumbent on this group of people and the influence of the larger communities. / XL2018

Thesis (M. Com. (Economics))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic & Business Sciences, 2017 / This study establishes the causal impact of piped water access on child health in rural South Africa (2008 – 2015) through the use of a panel dataset and a quasi-experimental sample space. By employing an ordinal measure of child health as the dependent variable within ordinal probit, fixed and random effects, propensity-score matched difference-in-difference and system-GMM estimators, it is demonstrated that positive health benefits for children with access to piped water are observed if and only if the minimum level of educational attainment of the primary-caregiver is equal to or greater than 7 years. This finding of complementarity is demonstrated to be a function of an individual’s (in)capacity to evaluate water quality: people below this threshold suffer from a piped water bias, place insufficient weight on the observable characteristics of water when determining water quality and are subsequently less likely to treat piped water preceding consumption. The interactional effect estimates are statistically significant at the 5% level with the impact ranging from 1.617 to 2.008 levels. / GR2018

M. Tech. Environmental Health / Particulate Matter (PM) is a complex, heterogeneous mixture of smoke, soot, dust, salt, acids, and metals. Particulate Matter varies in concentration, size, chemical composition, surface area and sources of origin. Given the known ambient particulate pollution problem, the potential health risks posed by PM to the population of eMbalenhle are unknown. eMbalenhle (the study area) is a township located in Mpumalanga Province, about 12 km from Secunda. The area is surrounded by industries, power stations and mines, all of which are recognised emitters of PM. The main aim of this study was to assess the health risks posed by ambient PM10 exposure to the population of eMbalenhle.

This study explores the potential extension of occupational health and safety to informal small scale miners in South Africa. It was motivated by an understanding of the integral but much neglected relationship between the quality of work and the goals of poverty reduction and economic development. The study recognises that poor working conditions can reduce productivity and that work-related injury or illness is an unaffordable risk for those working without access to adequate social protection. Further, the protection of labour standards, including work health and safety, is an established basic right in those countries where relevant LLO Conventions have been ratified. Conventional occupational health and safety (OHS) regulation operates through formal employment structures and therefore offers limited or no protection to informal workers. In a country where increasing policy attention is being paid at national and local level to the employment and economic growth potential of the informal economy, this study practically explores within one sector - mining - how the institutional positions of both conventional and identified non-conventional OHS stakeholders work to constrain, or provide opportunities for, the extension of health and safety protection to those working informally. The focus on one kaolin and one clay/coal informal small scale mine site within KwaZulu-Natal and the use of in-depth interviews with workers and a range of identified stakeholders enabled a structured qualitative investigation into the health and safety challenges faced by informal miners; the nature of the support provided to small scale mining by the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME); and the institutional processes acting through national, provincial and local structures that do or could influence workers' access to OHS. The threats presented by each mine to worker and public, as well as environmental health and safety were found to be numerous and severe. There was also evidence of a negative impact of poor working conditions on both the health and economic security of the workers. Despite this, the study identified a vacuum of accountability for the labour protection of informal miners. Conventional mining OHS mechanisms are vertically driven, resource intensive and technocratic. They are both inappropriate for and inflexible towards meeting the challenges presented by informal work. In a minority of cases interdependent links between the responsibil ities of non-conventional OHS stakeholders and work health and safety are understood, but the lack of a worker focus, the institutional boundaries within which people work, their limited OHS knowledge, and the major financial and human resource constraints they face, appear to present significant barriers to any actual OHS intervention. Through the research process it became clear that the management and nature of the DME's small scale mining support strategy itself present fundamental barriers to the extension of OHS. The strategy is a product of a narrow conceptual isation of what is needed to achieve formalisation. This, and the lack of genuine worker representation and accountability within it, means that not only does the strategy fail to attend to OHS and a variety of other worker needs, but that the DME continues unchallenged in its neglect of such issues. With an understanding of the real constraints faced by both workers and the range of identified OHS stakeholders, and in view of the future plans to overhaul the existing national OHS framework in South Africa, the study concludes by outlining some practical opportunities and recommendations that could help to break down existing barriers to the OHS protection of informal workers. Conventional OHS mechanisms could be reoriented to take advantage of cheaper, simpler and more appropriate workerled approaches which could potentially achieve substantial improvements for large numbers of informal workers. Realistic opportunities also exist to more firmly secure the participation of promising non-conventional OHS stakeholders including, in this case, formal mining companies and local government. Finally, there are ways to bridge existing deep divides between social and economic institutional responsibilities that currently serve to obscure potential resource sharing and multiplier impact opportunities of working more collaboratively to improve OHS for the benefit of informal workers. / Thesis (M.Dev. Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.