03072011 Nigeria Lead poisoning kills 400 more Nigerian children: Lead poisoning linked with illegal gold mining has killed a further 400 children in northern Nigeria since November, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Monday. The latest figures suggest the death toll from the crisis in the northern state of Zamfara is rising after the United Nations said lead poisoning in the region had killed at least 400 children between March and October last year.....more....
03062011 Turkey Much done but still much to do for sandblasting victims: There were mild coughs in the beginning. Then, the coughs became unbearable. I was unable to sleep at nights. Doctors diagnosed me with tuberculosis. I received tuberculosis treatment for nine months. In October of 2006, I was hospitalized at the Yedikule Hospital for Chest Diseases. After bronchoscopy tests there, doctors diagnosed me with silicosis. A doctor once told me upon seeing the X-ray image of my lungs that this disease would normally come to such a point only after 30 years and asked me how it did so in my case in three years. ‘I worked as a denim sandblaster;’ I said.”....more....
03022011 US OSHA US Labor Department's OSHA cites E.N. Range for exposing workers to lead hazardss at outdoor gun range in Oley, Pa., among otherviolations Violationss carry more than $201,000 in proposed penalties: OLEY, Pa. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Miami, Fla.-based E.N. Range Inc. for exposing workers to dangerously high levels of lead while removing lead pellets at an outdoor gun range in Oley. Proposed penalties total $201,600.OSHA initiated an inspection in response to a complaint alleging the lead hazards as well as deficiencies in the company's respiratory protection program. As a result of the inspection, three willful citations were issued with penalties of $168,000 and 11 serious citations were issued with penalties of $33,600....more...
03012011 US OSHA US Labor Department's OSHA cites Albany, NY, contractor for failing to provide cave-in protection at local jobsite Crisafulli Brothers Plumbing and Heating Contractors faces $50,400 in fines: ALBANY, N.Y. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited an Albany contractor for allegedly failing to provide cave-in protection for its workers who were repairing a sewer line at 5 Rosemont St.Crisafulli Brothers Plumbing and Heating Contractors Inc. faces a proposed fine of $50,400 after an OSHA inspection found its employees working in a 10 to 13-foot-deep straight-walled trench that lacked protection against a collapse of its sidewalls onto the workers...more...
02282011 US OSHA US Labor Department's OSHA cites Canton, Mass., contractor for failing to provide cave-in protection at Boston job-site: BRAINTREE, Mass. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Trainor Construction Co. Inc. for alleged willful and serious violations of workplace safety standards at a work site located at 270 Centre St. in Boston at which the Canton, Mass., contractor was replacing a water main. The company faces a total of $29,000 in proposed fines...more....
02282011 US OSHA US Labor Department's OSHA cites Associated Milk Producer sand Bechel Bros. for failing to protect workers from falls 7 additional milk haulers cited in probe following worker death: BLAIR, Wis. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued Associated Milk Producers Inc. of Blair and Bechel Bros. Inc. of Plum City, Wis., one willful safety citation each for failing to provide fall protection for workers. Associated Milk has received additional citations. All citations stem from an investigation prompted by the Aug. 23, 2010, death of a Bechel Bros. driver who fell from a delivery truck at an Associated Milk Producers' intake facility in Blair. Serious citations also have been issued to seven other milk transporters for failing to provide fall protection...more...
02252011 US OSHA US Labor Department's OSHA cites Stoughton, Mass., contractor for failing to provide cave-in protection at Revere, Mass., job site: ANDOVER, Mass. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited A.A. Will Corp. $69,300 for alleged willful and repeat violations of workplace safety standards following an inspection of a work site located at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Wonderland Station in Revere. The Stoughton contractor was installing electrical vaults in the station's parking lot....more...
02222011 China China plans to rein in heavy metal pollution: BEIJING (Reuters) - China's environmental protection agency has vowed to curb heavy metal pollution in a bid to cut widespread industrial contaminants like lead that have poisoned children and sparked protests. The world's top consumer and producer of lead, China has struggled to rein in polluting industry under lax environmental regulations as the country's economy grows rapidly. Lead-poisoning, especially in children, has roused public anger....more....
02182011 Turkey Killer Jeans, Sandblasting and Fashion Victims: Your jeans may be hurting more than just your wallet, especially if they were purchased with an already worn or faded look. The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), an alliance of European organizations, International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation and other organizations around the world are calling for an end to the denim treatment process of sandblasting, a process that is used to soften and lighten jeans and create that worn-in look....more....
02152011 Turkey Press Release: Killer Practice Still Not Banned By All Jeans Brands: Amsterdam, 15 February 2011 – The sandblasting of jeans has still not been banned by all jeans producers, even though the practice is known to kill sandblasting operators. Ignoring repeated calls by trade unions, labor-rights organizations and medical associations, large international fashion brands like Diesel, Dolce & Gabbana and Replay have refused to enter into dialogue to bring the deadly practice to an end in their supply chains. Jeans are sandblasted to give parts of the fabric a faded, worn out or bleached look. These jeans are profitable business: the retail prices of sandblasted jeans is often significantly higher than jeans without such finishing...more...
01202011 US OSHA Cherry US Department of Labor's OSHA cites Cherry Hill, NJ, company for worker exposure to silica, other health and safety hazards: CHERRY HILL, N.J. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited KOL Marble and Granite for 15 workplace health and safety violations, including employee exposure to silica, at its Cherry Hill facility. Proposed penalties total $48,600....more...
012011 US Benetton Benetton Group’s position on the denim sand-blasting practice: Regarding denim sand-blasting Benetton Group would like to state the following three points: •This practice is being phased out and its complete elimination from the production of jeans and other denim items is planned by the end of 2011. •This kind of practice is in any case barely used by the company: less than 5% of all our denim production is submitted to this treatment. •This practice is carefully managed in terms of safety, all operations are in fact carried out inside airtight rooms and the workplaces are equipped with air purification plants....more...
01192011 World GLOBAL: Union calls for sandblasting ban: The global union representing garment workers has called for a ban on the practice of sandblasting jeans, arguing that it can cause silicosis and even death. According to Patrick Itschert, general secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF), 550 former sandblasting workers in Turkey have been diagnosed with silicosis since 2005, including 46 deaths....more...
01172011 Turkey Silicosis sufferers will suffer from new bill, workers tell Turkish president: President Abdullah Gül met Monday with denim-industry employees fighting against a law proposal they say would negate the strides they made in seeking justice for workers suffering from silicosis. The workers told Gül that the new regulations included in the omnibus bill currently being discussed in Parliament would put silicosis patients in the same category as the disabled, meaning that their social assistance from the government would plummet to almost nothing....more...
