Often the victims of disasters at work, miners must also watch
out for a more insidious potential killer, a workplace safety
expert warned yesterday.
He Guojia, vice president of the Information Institute of the
State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS), said that by 2010,
pneumoconiosis, a lung disease caused by the excessive inhalation
of mining dust, could become a serious social problem if left
unchecked.
Statistics from the Ministry of Health said that by 2005, more
than 600,000 cases of pneumoconiosis had been reported in China,
almost as many as the rest of the world combined.
Of those, more than 140,000 people died, putting the death rate
at higher than 20 percent.
Last year, some 4,700 workers were killed in coal mining
accidents. It is estimated that pneumoconiosis kills about 6,000 to
8,000 every year.
Speaking at a workshop to mark the "World Day for Safety and
Health at Work," which falls on today, He Guojia said: "This 'white
injury' (pneumoconiosis) sheds no blood, but it is more deadly than
'red injuries' (accidents) that do."
In 2005, the disease affected more than 12,000 miners. However,
not all workers take regular physical checks, so the true figure is
likely to be much higher, He suggested.
"The average check rate for miners nationwide is just 50
percent," He said, "and they hardly ever have them in rural
areas."
Rural migrant workers who struggle to eke out a living by
toiling at the mines are the people most at risk, he said.
"Many migrant workers are uninformed about healthcare, so when
they fall ill they don't get proper treatment," He said.
"Sometimes, even though they know the dangers, they stay in the
mines because they have to make a living," He said.
"And often, they cannot claim compensation or money for
treatment because they don't have an employment contract."
(China Daily April 28, 2007)