Occupational and environmental health in Mauritius: a review of trends and recent studies

Environmental health-in the general environment and workplaces-is often ignored or undervalued in rapidly developing countries. This paper reports the evolution of a system of legislation and inspection for occupational and environmental health in Mauritius in recent years. It then discusses the findings of empirical studies of air pollution, exposure to vehicular lead and dietary lead intake. It finally discusses the health and safety findings in 16 factories. These studies, findings and legislation have encouraged the training of personnel in environmental health and it is hoped that this will gradually enhance occupational and general population health in the rapidly developing island.