Projects Overview

Reducing Health Hazards Among Stone Crusher Mill Workers

Location: India (Khurda District of Orissa)
Partner Organization: Jeevanrekha Parishad (JRP "Lifeline Council")

See our video Reducing Silica Exposures in Stone Crushing. Silica released from stone crushing is causing an epidemic of silicosis, cancer, other lung diseases and increases the risk of acquiring Tuberculosis (TB). This situation is particularly dire in India where the stone crushing industry employs over half a million people, many of whom are women and children. Occupational Knowledge International (OK International) is providing technical assistance to small-scale stone crushing mills on how to reduce emissions in their operations. This video documents how they reduced silica exposures by over 80% in one pilot study. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rBSL1WfNgw

As construction and road building is booming in India, small scale stone crusher industries are proliferating throughout the country, often in violation of air pollution and zoning guidelines. Airborne silica generated from these stone crushing mills throughout the Khurda region of Orissa, India are suspected to be the cause of increased morbidity and mortality rates from silicosis, cancer, and other lung disease. Unprotected workers including children working without respirators, proper ventilation, and dust suppression systems are subject to considerable health risks. Dust from these operations is also known to affect local communities. Without adequate screening for early detection of lung disease (virtually none exists), these workers often reach late-stage conditions prior to receiving care, at which point medical treatment is ineffective.

To reduce widespread occupational health hazards, we provided our partners at Jeevanrekha Parishad (JRP "Lifeline Council") with donated equipment to evaluate airborne exposures to silica and instructed the organization's volunteers and staff to help. We then arranged for a U.S. based laboratory to donate the sample analysis after no suitable facility could be located in India for this very specialized testing. Our results showing that exposures averaged five times the regulatory level for the most dangerous respirable silica dust, is the only study of this type ever conducted in India.

With a measure of the problem, we have arranged funding and donated supplies for our partners to provide workers with respirators to reduce exposures, workplace training on safer work practices, health check-ups for workers and technical assistance to mill owners on methods to reduce dust emissions. During the next phase of the project, we have initiated a pilot test to demonstrate the effectiveness of various dust control technologies and plan to use this information to educate owners on the cost, maintenance and effectiveness of these control methods.

For additional information on the health effects of airborne silica from stone crushing operations in India see the Short Report on Health Survey of Lal Kuan Victims (2006). For additional information on this project see the following publication: Reduction of Respirable Silica Following the Introduction of Water Spray Applications in Indian Stone Crusher Mills, Gottesfeld, P, Nicas, M, Kephart, J, Balakrishnan, K, and Rinehart, R., International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2008.

The following manual provides information and guidance for reducing exposures in stone crushers and to improve occupational health and safety: Safety & Health in the Stone Crushing Industry, Wagner, N, Nithiyananthan, L, Farina, L, International Development Research Centre, 2009.

Improving the Lead Battery Industry in Vietnam

The manufacturing of lead batteries in Vietnam, as well as the informal collection and recycling of used lead batteries in backward smelters, releases large quantities of lead into the environment. These exposures result in significant health impacts to workers and children in affected communities. The lead battery industry is growing rapidly yet there are few technical experts in the country working on improving environmental controls in this critical industry. To encourage improvements in the country's lead battery industry, we conducted trainings and outreach to battery manufacturers, government agencies, and vehicle manufacturers.

OK International is working cooperatively with the Vietnam Environmental Administration (VEA) to provide technical information on environmental controls, occupational health measures, and take back policies for used batteries. In April 2009, battery manufacturers and government officials attended an intensive two-day training on safe work practices, air monitoring techniques, emissions controls and related topics. We are working to introduce third party environmental certification for lead batteries in Vietnam.

See here for the Vietnamese version of the BEST Standard.

Preventing Silicosis Among Stone Crusher Workers

Locations in India:

• Karnataka, Dharwad Area;
• Orissa, Jajpur District

Partner Organizations:

• Best Practices Foundation; and
• Jeevan Rekha Parishad (JRP)

Thousands of poor, often indigenous women and children are exposed to clouds of airborne silica from quarry and stone crushing operations. Many of the most highly exposed are children working and living next to these mills. There is also a high incidence of Tuberculosis (TB) among theses communities, compounding the health impacts of silica exposure.

In partnership with the organizations listed above, OK International is working in the States of Orissa and Karnataka, India to encourage stone crusher mill owners to install pollution control equipment and take precautions to lower occupational exposures to silica. Project activities include outreach in the form of health and safety trainings to mill owners, managers, and workers, and technical training on engineering controls.

In addition to providing training and technical assistance on the dust reducing water spray systems, we are also working with mill owners to demonstrate how rainwater harvesting can supply the water needed for dust suppression equipment.

A safety manual in the Kannada language, has been created as part of this project to educate mill owners and operators about the hazards of silica dust and methods to reduce exposures. See the manual here.

Heavy Metal Contamination From a U.S. Owned Smelter in Peru

Location: La Oroya, Peru
Partner Organization: Asociación Civil Labor

The town of La Oroya, Peru - the site of an American owned smelter - is suffering from decades of unregulated emissions from the plant which continue to this day. According to the Peruvian Ministry of Health, blood lead levels among local children are dangerously high averaging 33.6 micrograms/deciliter, triple the World Health Organization limit of 10 micrograms/deciliter, while the vegetation in the surrounding area has been destroyed by acid rain. Limited environmental sampling has revealed lead levels exceeding public health standards in almost 90 percent of the homes, extensive soil contamination, and excessive airborne emissions throughout the town.

Lead causes a range of health effects, but primarily effects neurological development in children resulting in reduced school performance, lower scores on standardized tests (such as IQ), mental retardation and can even cause death. A significant portion of those tested by the Ministry of health should have received immediate medical attention to remove lead from the body, but no follow-up was ever initiated.

To plan for remediation and to examine the potential for ongoing exposure from the lead and other metals already deposited in La Oroya, further testing of dust lead levels inside homes was required. We therefore brought the equipment and supplies and trained our partners at the Asociación Civil Labor to collect dust wipe samples. We then arranged for half the samples to be analyzed at a laboratory in the U.S. as a donated service. After obtaining the results, we worked with our Peruvian partners to prepare a report, and conduct education and outreach about the health risks associated with the exposure to lead and other pollutants.

Full report in PDF format: [English] [Spanish]

Responding to Environmental Lead Pollution: Training Local Health Officials

The World Health Organization (WHO) requested OK International to go to Kosovo in response to the human tragedy left behind by an old industrial site in the former Yugoslavia. Mitrovica, the site of the second largest smelter complex in Europe, produced lead, arsenic and cadmium from the 1930s until 2000 when it was shut down by foreign peacekeepers to stop additional pollution coming from the plant. A second complex South of the town producing lead batteries was also shut down. (See the photograph)

Around 2001 it became apparent that a large number of Roma (Gypsy) children, displaced during the war and relocated to a refugee community on top of the smelter tailings, were experiencing lead poisoning. Subsequently WHO got involved and conducted studies demonstrating extensive environmental pollution and human exposure. The organization continues to play a major role in cleaning up the legacy of the smelter in Mitrovica.

Although the Roma refugees were moved in 2004 to a near by location, their new homes were also located on top of extensively contaminated tailings. The newer structures are of better quality and provide some small help in keeping out lead contaminated dust and soil. But children and adults in this community and throughout other areas of Mitrovica are continuing to experience extremely high rates of lead poisoning. OK International conducted an in-depth training class for local health officials on how to test, characterize, and respond to lead hazards in the environment.

Reducing Mercury Contamination from Small Scale Gold Refining Operations

Location: Mozambique (Manica District)
Partner Organization: Associacao ABIODES

In the Manica District of Mozambique, more than 10,000 people are involved in gold refining activities in which mercury is used to extract gold from ore deposits. This practice has severe health hazards and has caused significant environmental contamination in the region. No effort has been made to identify cases of mercury poisoning or to assist that these small operators with technologies to reduce mercury contamination. Our efforts are helping our partners to measure the impact of mercury contamination upon the health of those in the community, and to provide training on the technology better collect mercury vapors in order to reduce exposures.