[Bangladesh]Asbestos: The slow poison killing ship-breaking workers
February 4, 2017 in Latest News, lungdisease
Workers’ deaths at the ship-breaking yards of Chittagong are a common incident, as is environmental poisoning. But researchers have now detected one deadly illness that has been silently affecting the workers for decades.
In a recent study, Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) found that almost 33% of the ship-breaking workers are affected by asbestosis, an incurable disease caused by breathing the mineral in the form of dust or fume.
The health survey, led by asbestosis expert Dr Murali Dhar, among ship-breaking workers in Chittagong’s Sitakunda upazila, examined 101 workers in two phases and found 33 workers affected with the disease. Of them, eight had become 60% disabled from the disease. Read More
OSHE foundation organised a press conference to highlight this issue on February 2, 2017 to highlight and share the workers health survey and diagnosis conducted