Busisiwe Shezi is a Specialist Scientist under the persistent and toxic substance research programme of the Environment & Health Research Unit (EHRU). Dr. Busisiwe Shezi is also an honorary lecturer at the Discipline of Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and a Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg. She holds a PhD from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Her research focuses on occupational and environmental risk factors among the most vulnerable groups of South Africa, and those living in poverty. Her main areas of interest relate to heavy metals, air pollution and their impact on health, social and neurocognitive development. Dr. Shezi is currently a principal investigator for a study assessing uranium concentrations in hair from communities living near mine tailing facilities in Johannesburg. This is collaborative work between the World Health Organization- International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO-IARC), France; and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf, Germany. The research findings from the studies conducted by Dr. Shezi point to the need to develop and strengthen the environmental and occupational health policies in South Africa, this includes the institution of mandatory, basic buffer zones between pollutant generating activities and human settlements in South Africa.