Service Contract No 2007 / 147-446 Strategic ... - Swaziland

sustainable business. Based on ISO 14001, on the premise that risks to employeesand the environment occur owing to processes from within the business, AMS 16001focuses on the risk of employees becoming infected at work. However, the majority ofHIV transmissions occur outside the workplace. SANS 16001:2007 has beenintroduced to improve HIV/AIDS management in the workplace, and can beimplemented in all workplace environments, including public, private and NGOsectors 52 . The standard consists of a set of absolute requirements for achievingspecific outcomes through actions in line with the currently accepted best practice.For certification, these outcomes are objectively verifiable by auditors, who ensurethat the company is adhering to its stated policy. Once certification is obtained, thecompany is expected to continuously improve upon what it has previouslyundertaken.Swaziland is in a phase of high HIV prevalence and AIDS deaths; this can be minimised withsufficient resources. If no action is taken now, impacts will continue to grow, with majoreffects on the sugar industry. It is recommended that the following priorities be given, basedon the activities described above:- Studies focusing on the impact of HIV/AIDS on the industry, and in particular a costbenefitanalysis of mechanisation as a mitigating factor to possible labour-relatedshortages, for the mills and cane growers.- Resources allocated to the identification and management of HIV/AIDS, withemphasis on VCT to be able to assess the extent of the problem, and specifically inrelation to small cane-growers and FAs.5.6 Key aspect 5: Emission of POPs from sugarcane burning and socio- economicimplications of green cane harvesting(Medium Priority)5.6.1 Current stateThe Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutats (POPs) aims to protect humanhealth and the environment from POPs. Swaziland has ratified the Stockholm Convention,and as part of its commitments has an obligation to produce a National Implementation Plan(NIP) spelling out a plan to reduce POPs and achieve compliance with the Convention.POPs constitute a class of organic compounds that are toxic, resist natural degradation, bioaccumulateand are transported through air, water and migratory species. They accumulatein the fatty tissues of living organisms and their concentrations increase higher in the foodchain. Exposure to POPs has been associated with adverse health effects such as cancer,reproductive defects, immune system suppression, hormonal disruptions, etc.The basis to measure toxicity of POPs is the Toxic Equivalent Factor (TEF). The most toxicand widely studied PCDD/PCDF (C 12 H 4 Cl 4 O 2 , or 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) is givena TEF of 1, so the rest of the PCDD/PCDFs have a value corresponding to a fraction of onedepending on their toxicity in relation to that of C 12 H 4 Cl 4 O 2 .Emissions of POPs are measured according to their Toxic Equivalent Quantity (TEQ), whichis the sum of all individual PCDD/PCDF concentrations multiplied by their specific TEF. The52 See www.timbersa.co.zaRDMU (Strategic Environmental Assessment of the National Adaptation Strategy) - Page 87