Silicosis Conference

Work-to-Live sponsored and participated in a conference held by OK International to address disease from Silica dust. Our role was mostly to document the discussion around Silicosis in the developing world. We hired a film crew from India who showed up with 12 people! I've never produced a film before, so managing 12 people proved to be a challenge. Not to mention the fact that I'm in India and don't speak Hindi. Hopefully after some editing we will have some compelling footage and this will be a jumping off point for awareness around occupational health issues.

OK International did a great job bringing parties together to discuss awareness and possible solutions to the impacts of Silica exposure in the developing world. Participants included Indian NGOs, Labor Minister Shri Harish Rawat, The World Bank, The Public Health Foundation of India, The World Health Organization, an advocate from the Supreme Court of India, and a Medical Director from the Central Lobor Institute. A New Dehli Based NGO even brought Silicosis victims to plead for government assistance.

It was a great group with heated discussions. NGO's challanged government officials for not doing their jobs. The need was discussed for confidence building by regulatory authorities. It was also pointed out that employers in India do not think of employee health as an investment but as welfare.

At times the discussions were really depressing. The people who work in the unorganized mining sector are unskilled workers. It's hard to present the economic advatages to employers of keeping workers healthy, when those workers require little or no training. On the bright side some engineering efforts have led to effective and affordable solutions.

There is much more to be said about the conference and I hope to blog about it more. But I'm going to relax for a few days and gather my thoughts.

Trust

A bit of a rant, but here goes:

My job is to make Twitter a better place to work; it's a fabulous place. Some people don't see the connection between my work at Twitter and my non-profit, but I'm essentially trying to do the same thing in both positions: build trust.

What I've learned so far is that things go wrong when we give up faith in human reason. Why are we so ready to abandon trust in each other as a requirement in our daily interactions? The hardest thing I deal with when I go to India is the resistance towards non-profits. People I work with in the mining sector don't seem to believe that I am trying to improve the world without getting paid for it. India's economy is fiercely competitive. The idea that you shouldn't get the most out of every situation is unfamiliar to many people I meet. People I have encountered in public health have a hard time trusting anyone. This makes working together for the common good difficult and frustrating.

Very rarely, I see the same thing happen at Twitter. Things go really well until we stop trusting each other. Once you lose trust, it becomes almost impossible to get back. Competition can be good, but when it hinders teamwork, it can be the end of an organization. Working together requires dedication to mutual respect. Fortunately, we still have that, and with some luck and hard work, we can keep it.

Some companies focus on bringing an organization together by rallying against their competitors. This might bring people together as a team, but it is based on a ethos we are trying to distance ourselves from. At Twitter, we often get excited about coming together to make something amazing. I believe that's what we are doing now and hope that, as we get larger, it will continue to be the focus. Culturally, this is our most valuable asset.

This December, I hope OK International, Work-to-Live, Doctors, The Public Health Foundation in India, and several others can sit down and work towards the common good. I don't want to talk about compensation for victims or politics. I want to address the small changes that can be made in working environments to mitigate disease. I want the construction companies who are in attendance to trust that we want what's best for everyone involved. Sometimes, human nature surprises me and motivation goes beyond selfishness. I sincerely hope this will be one of those times.

Logo

As we get ready for the big conference this December we finally decided on a logo. Let us know what you think! A big thanks to Maggie Klousia and Phil Pascuzzo!

Upcoming Workshop : Silica Hazards in Construction and Mining: Reducing Exposures and Preventing Disease

Currently the International Work-to-Live Project is working with OK International (http://www.okinternational.org/) on hosting a National level meeting in New Delhi, India to build grassroots level awareness around environmental health issues. In cooperation with the Public Health Foundation of India, the World Bank, and various corporate partners, we are organizing a this workshop to encourage the adoption of pollution control technologies in construction and mining operations. These controls which have been pilot tested in India will reduce the risk of silicosis, cancer and tuberculosis (TB) among exposed workers. In light of the recent Supreme Court and National Human Rights Commission actions on silicosis, we are planning to bring together public health experts, industry representatives, government, multi-lateral aid agencies, and impacted communities to increase the awareness of silica hazards and the availability of pollution control technologies to reduce these hazards.

Intent of Workshop

The intent of the workshop is to raise awareness among key stakeholders and encourage the adoption of model specifications for the procurement of stone from facilities that control silica emissions. Additional policy options to reduce silica related disease will be discussed with the purpose of outlining specific initiatives to accomplish these goals Specific outcomes from the meeting will include

· Adoption of model specifications, created with input from various stakeholders, for the procurement of stone.

· An action plan to improve and expand outreach and education programs including the dissemination of model stone crushing procurement specifications.

· A list of specific, policy recommendations (including preferred purchasing programs) to promote the use of dust-control technologies.

In addition, we plan to implement the following strategies to promote the adoption of pollution control technologies in this industry:

· Work with government to plan a coordinated response among health, environment and transport ministries;

· Design policies and economic incentives such as preferred purchasing programs to encourage mill owners to install dust controls; and

· Build capacity among Indian NGOs, health professionals, government, trade associations, and others to disseminate this information through regional training seminars and local demonstration projects.

An Overview of Occupational Health Research In India

Recent industrialization and globalization are changing the Indian occupational morbidity drastically. Traditionally labor-oriented markets are on change towards more automation and mechanization, at the same time general awareness about occupational safety, occupational and environmental hazards were not spread in the society. This review by R.V. Agnihotram of the University of Montreal's Department of Social and Preventive Medicine offers insights into the prevalence of occupational health disease in India and touches upon the underlying issues of education, government policy, and market influence

With these structural changes the workers in low resources settings are more likely to be affected by the dangers of high technology than their counterparts in developed countries. Due to lack of education, unaware of the hazards of their occupations, general backwardness in sanitation, poor nutrition and climatic proneness of this geographic region to epidemics aggravate their health hazards from work environment

In the Asian continent, India is emerging as the major user of asbestos where the developed world is phasing out its use. Due to poor occupational health and safety systems in India and difficulties in early detection of pulmonary malignancy related to asbestos, the Indian government should consider the ban of this material in the future.

As many as 10 million industrial or mine workers in India may be exposed to asbestos or other dusts at concentrations of health concern

Occupational research is seen as a more complex issue in India, which includes child labor, poor industrial legislation, vast informal sector, less attention to industrial hygiene and poor surveillance data across the country. While India is experiencing an economic transition, occupational research should find a balance between understanding the modern industrial exposures and health risks of traditional sectors like agriculture and plantations. Strategies like modern occupational health legislation, enforcement machinery in sub-district levels, training to health professionals, need for epidemiological evidence and international collaborations were discussed to deal with the situation.