Exposure to heavy metals increases risks for migrant workers in S. Korea
Harmful working conditions have given rise to serious health problems such as cancer
Migrant workers who have been subjected to harmful working conditions have been found to have serious health problems. The Occupation Safety and Health Research Institute, or OSHRI, released a report on the health of migrant workers on March 20, which showed that the level of lead in their bodies is much higher than that of their South Korean counterparts.
Just seven, or 0.4 percent, of 1,581 South Korean laborers had higher amounts of lead in their blood than the benchmark figure used to determine the existence of an occupational disease, compared with 38, or 4.9 percent, of 781 migrant workers. People with higher amounts of lead in their blood suffer from symptoms like anemia, stomachache and paralysis in the peripheral nervous system. Six migrant workers were discovered to be living with higher than the acceptable levels of methylhippuric acid in their systems, which can cause cancer. These results have been gleaned from medical check ups conducted on more than 25,000 migrant workers and almost 20,000 domestic laborers in 2005.
A survey of 538 migrant workers conducted last year showed that more illegal foreign laborers were exposed to heavy metals such as chrome, while legal workers were exposed to higher amounts of grain dust. A significant number of migrant workers also had symptoms of depression.
One migrant worker who arrived to South Korea from Sri Lanka three years ago is suffering from allergic asthma. He has painted the valves at a factory in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, for approximately one year and nine months. Thinking that the paint, which also had a nasty odor, caused the disease, he applied for industrial disaster compensation in October 2006. However, the head of the company declined his application, forcing him to leave. One year later, he collapsed due to an asthma attack and was taken to the hospital. When he was admitted, he found that his case had already been recorded as an industrial disaster in as early as December 2006, and that the current documents were delivered to the company for which he used to work.
Kim Yong-gyu, an employee of St. Mary’s Hospital in Yeouido remarked, “Two or three migrant workers a year come in with asthma because of exposure to harmful chemical substances.”
Kim Gyu-sang of the OSHRI noted, “Given that the number of migrant workers in South Korea has reached more than 400,000, it is urgent that we grasp the degree to which they are exposed to harmful environments. As diseases resulting from exposure to poisonous chemical substances tend to appear only after a long period of time, the nation should create a system for tracking and managing the health of migrant workers.”
Migrant workers are regularly subjected to dirty, difficult and dangerous working conditions, otherwise known as the 3Ds. Despite the growing presence of migrant workers in South Korea, however, concerns about the treatment of migrant workers have grown. The government and law enforcement officials have continued to conduct raids on migrant communities that have forced many migrant workers to continue living and working in unsafe circumstances or return to their homelands.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/277166.html
Harmful working conditions have given rise to serious health problems such as cancer
Migrant workers who have been subjected to harmful working conditions have been found to have serious health problems. The Occupation Safety and Health Research Institute, or OSHRI, released a report on the health of migrant workers on March 20, which showed that the level of lead in their bodies is much higher than that of their South Korean counterparts.
Just seven, or 0.4 percent, of 1,581 South Korean laborers had higher amounts of lead in their blood than the benchmark figure used to determine the existence of an occupational disease, compared with 38, or 4.9 percent, of 781 migrant workers. People with higher amounts of lead in their blood suffer from symptoms like anemia, stomachache and paralysis in the peripheral nervous system. Six migrant workers were discovered to be living with higher than the acceptable levels of methylhippuric acid in their systems, which can cause cancer. These results have been gleaned from medical check ups conducted on more than 25,000 migrant workers and almost 20,000 domestic laborers in 2005.
A survey of 538 migrant workers conducted last year showed that more illegal foreign laborers were exposed to heavy metals such as chrome, while legal workers were exposed to higher amounts of grain dust. A significant number of migrant workers also had symptoms of depression.
One migrant worker who arrived to South Korea from Sri Lanka three years ago is suffering from allergic asthma. He has painted the valves at a factory in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, for approximately one year and nine months. Thinking that the paint, which also had a nasty odor, caused the disease, he applied for industrial disaster compensation in October 2006. However, the head of the company declined his application, forcing him to leave. One year later, he collapsed due to an asthma attack and was taken to the hospital. When he was admitted, he found that his case had already been recorded as an industrial disaster in as early as December 2006, and that the current documents were delivered to the company for which he used to work.
Kim Yong-gyu, an employee of St. Mary’s Hospital in Yeouido remarked, “Two or three migrant workers a year come in with asthma because of exposure to harmful chemical substances.”
Kim Gyu-sang of the OSHRI noted, “Given that the number of migrant workers in South Korea has reached more than 400,000, it is urgent that we grasp the degree to which they are exposed to harmful environments. As diseases resulting from exposure to poisonous chemical substances tend to appear only after a long period of time, the nation should create a system for tracking and managing the health of migrant workers.”
Migrant workers are regularly subjected to dirty, difficult and dangerous working conditions, otherwise known as the 3Ds. Despite the growing presence of migrant workers in South Korea, however, concerns about the treatment of migrant workers have grown. The government and law enforcement officials have continued to conduct raids on migrant communities that have forced many migrant workers to continue living and working in unsafe circumstances or return to their homelands.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/277166.html
