Silicosis - Oldest Occupational Disease

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The Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission's (RSHRC) pioneering efforts to provide solace to silicosis victims in state have garnered appreciation at the national level.

The deceased were among 1,721 people from 743 families hailing from tribal-dominated Dhar, Jhabua and Alirajpur districts who had migrated to Gujarat, claims the study carried out by three NGOs includ...

As he oversees the crushing and packaging of powdered quartz stones, Mahavir hopes his mask will keep out silicosis, the deadly disease that has claimed the lives of several in these factories.

In a rare order, the Supreme Court has issued a bailable warrant against the chief of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) after he did not show up to explain steps taken for preventing death of workers due to silicosis, a lung disease caused by inhalation of dust containing silica. The top court has also directed the Gujarat government to release more than Rs 7 crore as compensation to the families of 238 workers who died due to silicosis after working in Godhra's quartz and stone crushing industries. Issuing the order last week, a bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton F Nariman expressed concern over the negligent attitude of the CPCB in addressing the issue of this occupational health hazard although hundreds of people, mostly tribals from Madhya Pradesh, have died due to silicosis while working in Gujarat.

The Supreme Court ordered the Gujarat government to pay Rs 3 lakh as compensation to the families of each of the 238 people who died of silicosis between 2000 and 2005.

Ranjit Kumar's voice is so soft you have to lean in to hear him. "I have this nightmare," he says. "I'm in a mine and I see this shining piece of mica. I try to grab it but it's out of reach. I walk towards it but it moves still further away.

The Labor Department rules address the long-known danger of silica, whose particles can cause silicosis, a disabling and sometimes fatal lung disease.

Earlier this month, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at Jodhpur hosted a conference on occupational health.

Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Gujarat government of initiating action against industrial units inspected by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in connection with the case of silicosis victims of Jhabua and Alirajpur in Madhya Pradesh.

Rajasthan is among the first states in the country to attempt to put in place proper relief measures for those suffering from silicosis, says Dr M K Devarajan of the state human rights commission.

It was a day of discussion on health at the Jawab Do dharna on Tuesday.

The counsel, appearing for the CPCB chairperson, argued that June 30 has been fixed as the next date in the matter and hence the execution of the coercive process may be stayed in the meantime.

In India's Rajasthan desert, the work of mining sandstone can be lethal. Silicosis, a slow, irreversible loss of lung function, is easily preventable with masks, but workers wear little protection in the blazing heat. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on how neglect, social indifference and poor education mean that laws for workers' safety are rarely enforced.

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