Onsite water dispenser was contaminated – Dundee

Business Reporter

THE Dundee Precious Metals (DPM) mine in Tsumeb has provided clarity on the water quality issues at the mine which lead to 23 employees falling sick and being admitted to the hospital.

The mine, in a statement, said that in the handling of their onsite dispenser water, which caters to employees, their controls were inadequate leading to their onsite water quality being out of specification for microbiology.

This response by the mine revealed the false diagnosis spread by Oshikoto health director Joshua Nghipangelwa, which claimed that the workers fell sick due to microwave radiation as the workers warmed water in the microwave.

“Dundee Precious Metals Tsumeb (DPM Tsumeb), a smelting company, is taking immediate action to address recent water quality issues that resulted in minor gastro-intestinal illnesses among some employees,” Alina Garises, Communications manager at Dundee said.

She explained that as part of their routine water management plan, DPM Tsumeb previously detected that the quality of water was out of specification in our water systems in December 2022. Garises said that the authority accountable for domestic water in Tsumeb was informed immediately and the Company began providing dispenser water for drinking on-site for our employees.

“In mid-August 2023, some employees reported nausea and vomiting believed to be due to drinking water. The affected employees received treatment from the on-site clinic at DPM Tsumeb as well as the local health facilities and have completely recovered. The situation is under control and no new cases have been reported since August 23. In the handling of our onsite dispenser water, we provide to our employees, our controls were inadequate leading to our onsite water quality being out of specification for microbiology. The situation is under control and no new cases have been reported since August 23,” Garises said.

She added that the company is committed to employee health and safety and has taken additional steps to prevent similar outbreaks.

These measures include, communicating to workers and service providers about the importance of hand hygiene, food safety practices, and early treatment should they fall ill. They further that the company has also installed a reservoir tank to ensure adequate water supply for their employees with specific control measures to ensure the water remains safe.

“DPM Tsumeb continues to investigate the outbreak and has learned it was not limited to our site. The local private hospital treated a total of 25 patients with similar symptoms, five of whom were DPM Tsumeb employees. The public hospital treated 23 DPM Tsumeb employees and 5 cases from other parts of Tsumeb. The public state hospital has not seen any further cases from Dundee since 19 August 2023,” Garises said.

She concluded that DPM Tsumeb is committed to ensuring safe drinking water is provided to our employees. “We will continue our program of regular water testing, maintain proper water distribution systems for our workers and work closely with relevant stakeholders to ensure the well-being of employees and the community,” Garises stressed.