Earlier this month Tan Ee Lyn, a Health Correspondent writing for Reuters in Asia, reported that in China’s southern Guangdong province, thousands of stonecutters are dying from silicosis, an incurable lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust while drilling, cutting, crushing, grinding or blasting slabs of gemstones. Silicosis, also known as Grinder’s disease and Potter’s rot, is marked by inflammation and scarring in the upper lobes of the lungs.
Is it preventable? Absolutely, masks and properly ventilated rooms would do a great deal to mitigate the risks. Are these safety conditions in place? Generally speaking, no. Are the stonecutters concerned about silicosis? Probably not as concerned as they are about feeding their children day by day. Do consumers need to put on the pressure to force employers to provide safe working conditions? Hell YES!
Doing a random survey of gemologists at an international jewellery fair in Hong Kong, Lyn was met with blank stares after asking about Silicosis.
Shek Pingkwan of Labour Action Asia said of those afflicted by Silicosis “Most die in their mid-40s. Some die even younger, just a few years after diagnosis. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that more than 24,000 people die in China each year from the disease which scars the lungs and leads to severe respiratory problems and death.
The number of silicosis cases in southern China grew so high about eight years ago that health experts warned the illness was reaching epidemic proportions. The Chinese government swiftly demanded that large gemstone companies compensate dying workers. But rights groups say the situation has not improved much as gem cutting work has been outsourced to unlicenced contractors to avoid law suits.
Silicosis is prevalent in developing countries such as China, India, Vietnam and Brazil where labor is cheap, people are desperate for work and safety regulations are lax. “There is widespread lack of awareness of the problem and its magnitude as well as lack of knowledge of available solutions,” the WHO said on its website. Chinese workers are still cutting gems without masks despite increased awareness of silicosis by the authorities and industry groups such as the World Jewellery Confederation which calls for better safety standards for gem workers.
Since the government began demanding compensation for dying workers, distributors often outsource stone cutting to fly-by-night factories, workers in China say. “These companies are evil. They have subcontracted the most harmful jobs to small factories so they won’t have to worry about compensation,” said Su Mingguo, a worker dying from silicosis.
Rights groups say that if the people who buy gems ask tough questions about the workers who cut the stones then this could be enough to pressure gem distributors in China to educate workers and provide safe working conditions.
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