Researchers talk about the Riverlea Dust Study
Researchers explain how the dust can have an effect on residents of Riverlea.
A meeting was held at the Riverlea Hall concerning the issue of the dust from mine dumps surrounding the area of Riverlea.
The researchers explained how the dust can have an effect on residents of Riverlea but made it very clear that the effects of the dust would only take place after many years of living in the area and inhaling those dust particles.
The researchers were from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and the National Institution of Health (NIOH) who were working in collaboration.
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The study they are doing is called ‘Riverlea Dust Study on Chronic Respiratory Conditions’. The study shows that there might be dust particles so small it cannot be seen by the naked eye and can penetrate deep into the lung this can cause respiratory harm.
The NIOH was approached by residents of Riverlea concerning the dust problem because community members were complaining about it.
The dust is from the mine dumps which surrounds the Riverlea area, the mine dumps are because of gold mining so that dust is emitted by these dumps are not only normal dust but also Silica dust. This dust can cause respiratory problems.
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There are different types of Silica but the one that comes from the gold mining is the crystalline silica, which can cause silicosis, pulmonary TB and Airway disease (Chronic bronchitis). Silicosis which is a respiratory health issue commonly had by miners after working and inhaling dust particles for 15 to 20 years.
Even though this dust can be one of the causes of this respiratory problems there are also other causes of respiratory problems, such as smoking, biomass fuels (paraffin, gas etc.) and also if you do welding.
The first phase of their research was a questionnaire to ask people from Riverlea (who they chose randomly) about things that relate to their research. They also gave this questionnaire to people from Ennerdale.
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This was to see the differences between in the respiratory health of people living close to mine dumps and people living far away from mine dumps. They had a phase two which was to conduct a chest x-ray and a lung function. This was to check how many people have a lung problem.
The SAMRC did research on soil samples from different places close and far away from mines. In the soil, they found traces of lead and arsenic.
There were higher levels of arsenic in the Riverlea soil from gardens, arsenic can be from mine dumps but is also found in pesticides. These are the preliminary results and more research will be done at a later stage.
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