| 作者 |
 Besides Luxury |
 |
lilyofthevalley
[博客]
头衔: 海归上士
声望: 学员
性别: 
加入时间: 2009/01/13
文章: 46
海归分: 1308
|
|
|
作者：lilyofthevalley 在 海归商务 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
转载:
Standing alongside glass cases filled with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and other stones on display at an international jewelry fair in Hong Kong, gem buyers discuss what they prize most in precious stones.
"Quality," most reply without a second thought.
They stare blankly when asked if they have ever heard of silicosis and whether they have a policy of refusing to buy stones from factories that don't protect workers from the disease.
"I am sorry, I know nothing about it," said one gemologist at the fair, which drew 30,000 buyers in early March.
In Guangdong Province, adjacent to Hong Kong, thousands of stonecutters are dying from silicosis(硅肺病), an incurable lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust while drilling, cutting, crushing, grinding or blasting slabs of gemstones.
"Most die in their mid-40s; some die even younger, just a few years after diagnosis," Shek Pingkwan of Labor Action Asia said, adding that others die of tuberculosis and heart attacks.
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 24,000 people die in China each year from the disease, which scars the lungs and leads to severe respiratory problems and death.
The number of silicosis cases in southern China grew so high about eight years ago that health experts warned that the illness was reaching epidemic proportions.
The Chinese government swiftly demanded that large gemstone companies compensate dying workers. But rights groups say the situation has not improved much as gem cutting work has been outsourced to unlicensed contractors to avoid lawsuits.
Deng Winghong, 37, worked as a stonecutter for 10 years before he was diagnosed with silicosis.
"The environment was very bad where I worked," Mr. Deng said in Huizhou, Guangdong. "The managers didn't tell us about the harms and we were given two masks a month, the thin sort.
"There were many people in the room and it was very dusty. There was one ventilator but it didn't have much effect. They shut the windows because our factory was by the road. The owner didn't want the dust to get out into the street and pollute the air outside in case it drew attention from the authorities."
Silica is a common compound found in sand and many types of rocks. When rocks are drilled or cut up, small silica dust particles are produced, and these lodge in air sacs in the lungs, where they cannot be cleared out by coughing. The lungs get inflamed and harden. Symptoms include a dry cough, fatigue, loss of appetite, labored breathing and chest pain.
"I have seen two friends die," said Mr. Deng, who suffers from shortness of breath, fatigue and chest pain. "Before they died, their bodies swelled and suddenly dried up. They had to have oxygen tanks and couldn't even walk on their own.
"I know of over a dozen colleagues who have already died. Some died when they were only in their 20s."
Silicosis is more prevalent in developing countries like China, India, Vietnam and Brazil where labor is cheap, people are desperate for work and safety regulations are lax.
Many Chinese workers are still cutting gems without masks despite increased awareness of silicosis from the authorities and from industry groups like the World Jewelry Confederation, which calls for better safety standards for gem workers.
Since the government began demanding compensation for dying workers, distributors often outsource stonecutting to fly-by-night factories, workers in China say.
"These companies are evil," said Su Mingguo, a worker dying from silicosis. "They have subcontracted the most harmful jobs to small factories so they won't have to worry about compensation.
"There was a case where a boss ran away and workers were just left with the rocks and some broken machines, and they shared the money between them and ended up with a few hundred yuan each."
Some villages in Huizhou's administrative area are entirely devoted to processing gemstones. In a home in one village, a migrant worker from Sichuan Province and his wife work on crude machines fitted with blades that cut strips of stone into tiny cubes. Although there is a ventilator in the hut, the air is thick with dust as their young daughter runs about.
"Worried about the disease? Not at all," said Lu Jun, a neighbor and gem cutter. "The question is whether we have food to eat. No one thinks about getting the disease."
Mr. Lu's younger brother died of silicosis, but he is more worried about China's hordes of gemstone workers who have lost their jobs because of the global financial crisis.
For workers who eke out a living cutting gemstones, earning money for food and other basic needs is more important than long-term health risks.
Yet rights groups say that if the people who buy gems ask tough questions about the workers who cut the stones, this could be enough to pressure gem distributors in China to educate workers and provide masks and properly ventilated rooms.
"What we need really is more health education and legislation," said Allen Chan, a pathologist at the Chinese University in Hong Kong. "There is now good protective equipment, and workers must simply use them."
Thanks for reading this, and please let others know as well.
作者：lilyofthevalley 在 海归商务 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
标签: 商业背后 华丽背后,
|
|
|
| 返回顶端 |
|
 |
|
-
 Besides Luxury -- lilyofthevalley - (5273 Byte) 2009-3-17 周二, 17:45 (674 reads)
|
|
|
|
您不能在本论坛发表新主题, 不能回复主题, 不能编辑自己的文章, 不能删除自己的文章, 不能发表投票, 您 不可以 发表活动帖子在本论坛, 不能添加附件不能下载文件, |
|
|
