Public health: Court moved against dangerous factory emissions

The petitioner says there is no dust-control mechanism at the factory.

LAHORE:

A petition seeking mandatory preventive measures against silicosis, caused allegedly by emissions from a stone-crushing factory in Gujranwala, and compensation for deaths caused by it.

Public Lawyers’ Front (PLF) filed the petition through advocate Raheel Kamran Sheikh, saying that two workers, Tahir and Qaiser, had contracted silicosis while working at a stone crushing factory owned and operated by Ashraf Ansari in Gujranwala.

The petition said they had both died from their condition several other workers were seriously ill.

The petitioner said there was no dust-control mechanism at the factory.

He said labourers at the factory mixed powdered stone with boric acid. He said exposure to the powdered silica mixed and boric acid had led to several workers reporting high fever and coughing.

He said in most cases doctors were unable to make correct early diagnosis because symptoms of silicosis were very similar to tuberculosis.

He said death by silicosis was common stone-crushing factory workers across the province.

The petition said the disease among stone-crushing factories was “directly attributable to the gross negligence on the part of factory owners and state agencies responsible for implementation of labour welfare and environment laws.”

The petitioner said the hazard was known to the factory administration but it had failed to take “basic preventative action,” such as providing masks to workers and watering down dust.”

The petitioner said emissions at stone-crushing factories of silica dust, which was a pollutant and hazardous substance within the meaning of clause XVII of Section 2 of the Punjab Environment Protection Act, 1997.

The petitioner referred to the World Health Organisation (WHO) studies on occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica and said it was found to be to be associated with silicosis, lung cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis, and airways disease.

In addition, the petitioner said, it may be related to development of autoimmune disorders, chronic renal disease and other adverse health effects.

The petitioner sought asked the court to issue directions for constitution of a commission to inquire into the number of fatalities that had resulted from contraction of occupational diseases at stone-crushing factories in the Punjab.

The petitioner said a fund should be established for payment of compensation, treatment, and rehabilitation of factory workers and their legal heirs.

The petitioner said the commission should also formulate guidelines for a prevention programme and make recommendations for the avoiding such incidents in the future.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2014.