The
Shaanxi provincial government will take three months to
thoroughly investigate the prevalence of occupational injuries and
diseases, including silicosis, chemical poisoning and radiation
sickness.
"From January 20 to April 20, the local public health
administrative departments at all levels will survey the causes of
occupational injuries and diseases and their distribution among
various trades, as well as the overall injury situation throughout
the province," said Li Hongguang, director of the Shaanxi
Provincial Public Health Department.
The factors leading to occupational diseases include dust,
poisonous chemicals and radiation in the workplace. Diseases caused
by exposure to these elements include acute and chronic poisoning,
silicosis, radiation sickness and those caused by physical factors,
Li said.
"We will pay more attention to the investigation of some township
enterprises and private factories because many of them do not have
complete protection and control measures for their employees," he
said.
About 83 percent of Shaanxi's township and private enterprises have
recorded occupational injuries. And from 1991 to 2001, 5,183
reported cases involved occupational diseases. Some 80 percent of
these cases were diagnosed as silicosis, which is mainly found in
the coal mine, machinery, railway and construction materials
industries.
Every year, Shaanxi has suffered direct economic losses of 600
million yuan (US$72.3 million) and countless indirect losses due to
silicosis, Li said.
(China
Daily January 24, 2002)