Interactive Assignment on Medical Surveillance
for Manganese Exposure in the Mining Industry

1. Your task is to collectively come up with an appropriate guideline suitable for occupational medical surveillance for those exposed to manganese in the mining industry?
2. The Mine Health and Safety Act sets up tripartite structures and mechanisms for considering such issues.
3. Thisdraft guideline has been tabled by the Department of Minerals and Energy at the Mines Occupational Health Advisory Committee for discussion and ultimate submission to the Mines Health and Safety Council for adoption, after which it will become a mandatory code of practice subject to inspection by the mines health and safety inspectorate of the DME.
4. We will divide up into 3 groups as follows:
   • Group 1 is the Government Mining Inspectorate(DME)
   • Group 2 is the Trade Union Health and Safety Advisory Group
   • Group 3 is the Chamber of Mines group
5. We will start with a face to face meeting in class to begin the process of critiquing and modifying this draft from the DME in order to end up with a mutually agreed draft by all the interested parties/stakeholders. The 3 groups will discuss their immediate reactions to the draft in class.

1. After your return home between this and the next Practicum Block you will work in your 3 groups using discussion topics on WebCT that have been set up for this purpose. There will be one private discussion topic for each group as well as a plenary discussion topic for negotiations between the three groups.
2. All groups will consider the three background articles (article 1, article 2; and article 3) provided on the topic of Manganese exposure and surveillance.
3. Additionally all three groups will conduct an exhaustive search of the web and any other resources available to them to investigate this issue.  This step is important as it will ensure that each group is fully up to date and well informed on this topic and will not be surpised by anything that the other groups can come up with which may not be in their interest.
4. Group 2 and Group 3 must then produce separate drafts of this guideline.
5. In addition to providing the text of such a guideline, argument must be supplied in writing as to why any aspect of the original draft has been rejected and also why new elements are being inserted into the draft. These two Groups (2 and 3) are to produce concise drafts with attached explanatory comment. This should not exceed 4 pages for the draft and 4 pages of explanation including references.
6. These drafts must be submitted to the Government group (Group 1) and to Prof Myers by Monday 29 August 2005.
7. The draft should cover at a minimum:
   • Sources of Mn exposure
   • Health effects - character and extent of the problem(s)
   • Occupational exposure limits
   • Legislative requirements under the MHSAct
   • Exposure monitoring (environmental and biological) in terms of the limits
   • Medical surveillance - general requirements applicable to this context
   • Procedures for handling abnormal results of monitoring and surveillance
   • Procedures for limiting occupational exposures including environmental exposures where appropriate
8. The Government group must then collate the employer and labour submissions and come up with a new draft motivating its inclusions and exclusions and should be fully referenced and documented. The should similarly not exceed 4 pages for the new draft and 4 pages of explanation as to how the labour and business comments were dealt with including any other changes made together with relevant references. This should then be posted on the plenary discussion board for discussion and further development by Monday 3rd October 2005.
9. The three groups will then negotiate a unitary document which must be finalised and posted on the plenary discussion board by Monday 28th November. Each group will operate through a single chosen spokesperson when the plenary discussion board is used using the plenary listserver. The government representative will chair the plenary discussion.

Bear in mind the following minimal considerations:

1. Extent of the problem
2. Practicality of implementation
3. Costs
4. Surveillance expertise in industry - hygiene and medical