Cape Plc: South African mineworkers' quest for justice

Our plain-English summary of Cape Plc: South African mineworkers' quest for justice, by R. Meeran (International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2003).

The study

• Author: R. Meeran
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Published: 2003;9(3):218-29
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Communities in South Africa, especially those in Limpopo and Northern Cape, have been decimated by the mining operations of Cape Plc. South African victims of asbestos-related disease have only recently begun to be awarded (modest) compensation settlements through litigation, as a result of collective efforts on their behalf. The tortuous case of Cape, which knowingly exposed thousands of innocent people, especially black workers, to damaging environmental concentrations of asbestos, is detailed. After fierce and prolonged skirmishing in the courts, a decision in favor of the claimants allowed the case to be tried in the English High Court. Cape reached a settlement agreement with the claimants in 2001, but was unable to meet its terms. Renewed litigation in 2002 resulted in the signing of three new settlement agreements in 2003. These have yet to be put into effect, but it is hoped that the recent developments represent a turning point in the fortunes of South African asbestos victims.

In plain English

This is not a scientific study but an account by a London solicitor who represented South African asbestos claimants against Cape Plc. The author described Cape's crocidolite mining in the Northern Cape and amosite mining in Limpopo until 1979, citing documents on dust conditions, the employment of women and children, and industry efforts to restrict a 1962 mesothelioma survey. The author then traced the English litigation, in which about 7,500 claimants were registered by August 2001. In a review of 5,000 medical files, the existing Medical Bureau of Diseases diagnoses were found correct in around 85% of cases. About 30% each were pleural plaque, asbestosis, and pleural thickening or pleural effusion cases, and there were about 400 mesothelioma cases. A December 2001 settlement of £21 million collapsed when Cape's bankers would not release the money. In March 2003 three settlements were signed: about £35 million from Gencor, £7.5 million from Cape, and about £3 million from Gencor to the 7,500 Cape claimants. The author concluded that these developments had hopefully initiated a turning point for South African asbestos victims.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative account and commentary on litigation, written by a lawyer who represented the claimants; not a medical or epidemiological study
• Who was studied: South African claimants with asbestos-related disease who sued Cape Plc in the English courts: about 7,500 by August 2001, about 75% from Limpopo and 25% from Northern Cape
• Exposure: Crocidolite mining in the Northern Cape and amosite mining in Limpopo (formerly Northern Province/Transvaal) by Cape and its subsidiaries, including mills such as the one in Prieska town; exposure of mine and mill workers and people living near the operations
• Main results:
  • A review by a team of experts of a sample of 650 claimant files found the Medical Bureau of Diseases diagnosis correct in around 85% of cases
  • A later review of 5,000 cases also gave a success rate of around 85%
  • Among the claimants, about 30% were pleural plaque cases, 30% asbestosis cases and about 30% pleural thickening/pleural effusion cases; there were about 400 mesothelioma cases
  • The December 2001 settlement provided a total of £21 million through a trust, with the highest awards of £5,250 for mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer
  • The December 2001 settlement was not paid because Cape's bankers would not release the money, and the litigation recommenced in September 2002
  • On 13 March 2003 three settlements were signed: about £35 million with Gencor (about £3 million earmarked for environmental rehabilitation), a one-off £7.5 million from Cape for the 7,500 claimants, and about £3 million from Gencor to the 7,500 claimants
  • Historical records cited by the author showed that at Penge on 6 September 1940, 372 children under 16 and a further 75 under 18 were employed in asbestos processing, out of a total workforce of 1625
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that the settlements with Cape Plc and Gencor had hopefully initiated a turning point for South African asbestos victims, who should at last secure some measure of justice

Related studies

• Global asbestos justice: South African asbestos victims win right to sue Cape PLC in U.K. courts — L. Kazan-Allen (2001)
• Asbestos-related disease in South Africa: the social production of an invisible epidemic — L. Braun, S. Kisting (2006)
• Justice for asbestos victims and the politics of compensation: the French experience — A. Thébaud-Mony (2003)
• South African experience with asbestos related environmental mesothelioma: is asbestos fiber type important? — N. White, G. Nelson, et al. (2008)
• Asbestos mining in Southern Africa, 1893-2002 — J. McCulloch (2003)
• Asbestosis in South African asbestos miners — G.K. Sluis-Cremer (1970)

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