Unsafe workplaces killing Vietnam Workers at a factory in the southern Long periods of staring into welding flares have seriously damaged Nguyen Van Bang's vision. “I'm still luckier than my many colleagues, who lost the use of their eyes after iron filings flew into them,” said the 31-year-old welder at a mechanical service factory in Experts have warned about the rising predominance of work-related illnesses, which remain largely unexamined and untreated. Bang said his vision loss isn't the only hazard in his line of work. "We suffer frequent coughing fits. We all know it’s because we've inhaled too many fumes and too much iron dust,” he said. Government statistics show about 28,000 people suffer from occupational diseases, on average, per year. Silicosis and other respiratory illnesses topped the list, followed by chemical poisoning. Many companies continue to rely on cheap materials, antiquated technology and illegal and harmful chemicals to reduce input costs, the report noted. All the corner cutting has posed a serious risk to public health. In HCMC, Nearly a third of those workers had nose/ear/throat diseases and more than 20 percent reported eye diseases. The city's Nearly 95 percent were found to suffer from chronic fatigue; 80 percent suffered from muscle and joint pains. Workplace hazards Most of the factory workers that Thanh Nien News met reported suffering from health problems caused by their working environments. Dang “Aside from back problems caused by extended periods of sitting, I cannot see the color black very clearly. All of us have rhinitis caused by the dust in our workplace,” she said. Meanwhile, Truong Thuy Nga and other workers at the My Chau Printing and Packaging Holdings Company in HCMC’s Tan Phu District suffer from dust and noise pollution. “Those who are lucky enough to avoid being crushed in a mine collapse usually end up with lung disease,” --La Tu, an engineer at a coal mine in “I also suffer from eye problems caused by working in our quality control department. Most people have to get glasses for astigmatism soon after they start work in my section,” she shouted over the construction noise emanating from her factory. “Other workers in my section who make tin cans suffer from hearing loss.” Mining seemed to be the most dangerous job in the country. La Tu, an engineer at the Nam Mau Coal Mine in the “Those who are lucky enough to avoid being crushed in a mine collapse usually end up with lung disease,” he said. Another worker at the mine, who asked to remain annonymous, said only select employees are sent to hospitals for therapeutic lung irrigation sessions: “How about the rest who inhale dust every day?” Unprotected workers During a conference on working conditions and occupational hazards held on October 31 in HCMC, Dr. Trinh Hong Lan of the city’s Institute for Hygiene and Public Health said many companies did not offer medical checkups to their workers. “Many workers suffer from occupational diseases but are not examined and treated,” he said. Meanwhile, Dr. Ho Hoang Tuan of the “Many companies with more than 300 employees lack a company nurse or doctor. They also ignore safety measures,” said the doctor who often treats patients for work-related diseases. “Many workers continue to ignore safety equipment. They don't even know that they have an occupational illness,” he said. Dr. Huynh Tan Tien, director of “A quarter of them were found with ‘bad’ and ‘very bad’ health conditions,” he said. “Worker health is getting worse; if immediate and effective action isn't taken, |
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