Counting Workplace Injuries: a National and International Challenge

An excellent WSJ article discusses the federal government's undercounting of workplace injuries. Their analysis of information from the Department of Labor found that while reported workplace injuries had declined substantially from 2000 to 2006, the workplace fatality rate had stayed the same. According to the article, safety experts blame the increased number of undocumented workers and independent contractors for the increase in undercounts.

The developed world often chastises developing countries' governments for undercounting workplace injuries by alarming rates, but it is important to realize the emerging challenges of OSH reporting in the US and other developed economies as their economies also become more globalized and more informal.

Child Miners' Plight in Bolivia

There's an interesting new BBC story on Bolivia's child miners. Of course, a similar article could have been written in many developing countries, and the US and UK of the 1890s. The author notes that the life expectancy for the average child miner is 40, with most untimely deaths being the result f silicosis.

Zimbabwe Could Face Massive Layoffs due to South African Asbestos Ban

Widespread panic is enveloping the Zimbabwean asbestos industry following a South African ban on asbestos earlier this year. South Africa has been one of Zimbabwe's largest trading partners for asbestos. According to a recent article in the country's Financial Gazette, an estimated 10,000 Zimbabwean workers' jobs could be affected by the ban. This article provides some great insight on the pressures being felt in the worldwide asbestos increase and the need to provide sustainable alternative industries when banning more harmful ones. From the Gazette article:

The Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) has said the use of asbestos has been on the decline worldwide due to the hazards reportedly associated with the mineral.

“The market in now concentrated in developing countries primarily the Far East, Middle East, India, Sri Lanka and Brazil,” said the MMCZ in its strategic plan for 2005 to 2007.

“Sustainability is dependent on controlled production as the market is shrinking,” added the MMCZ.

Zimbabwe commands a nine percent market share of the global asbestos market.

While several European countries have developed new industries to develop alternatives to asbestos products, smaller and poorer economies in other parts of the globe have struggled to find a new niche. There needs to be a concerted effort on the part of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat and the European Green Movement to provide such alternatives.

Big Steel and OSH: ArcelorMittal Takes the Lead

The world's largest steel company, ArcelorMittal, is the first international steel corporation to set minimum occupational health standards for all of its facilities around the world. Headquartered in Luxembourg, ArcellorMittal employs 312,000 employees in 60 countries in the developing and developed world. Read the official company press release here.

Silicosis in India

Though there has been so much news out of South Africa and Turkey regarding those countries' struggles to combat silicosis, government officials in India have also been struggling with how to deal with an increase in silicosis victims. A recent feature in the Times of India highlights the struggles of a twenty-something man who is dying of silicosis. Most of the man's family has also died from the disease that he contracted after working in a quartz crushing factory in the Indian state of Gujarat. The crushed quartz is then used in the making of glass products.

From many of our posts, it may seem that silicosis is a relatively new occupational health issue, when in actuality this is far from the truth. Dr. Basil Varkey, who wrote the WebMD article on the silicosis, notes that while the condition has been noted as an occupational health hazard for centuries, more cases are now being reported due to an increase in mechanized stone-crushing practices. This increase combined with a lack of modern industrial hygiene practices in the developing world is leading to a noticeable increase in silicosis cases worldwide.

Fumed Silica Plants on the Rise in China

Global demand for manufactured silica products is increasing rapidly with many new plants being constructed throughout the world. According to the Boston Business Journal, the Cabot Corp. is planning to build a new plant in Tianjin, China. With so many recent news items on the occupational health issues surrounding silica production, these new development projects are definitely something to keep an eye on.

Waste Management: Toxic Ship Heads for Cote d'Ivoire

After being rejected by Dutch officials in Amsterdam, a highly toxic decommissioned cargo ship is heading to the west coast of Africa where officials in the port of Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire have agreed to clean the ship using methods that are illegal in most of the developed world. The ship is carrying 550 tonnes of toxic waste, and method advocated by th Dutch officials was not deemed cost efficient. The story is a grim reminder that there is more to "end of life" ships than shipbreaking. Waste management techniques also play a major part in the process.