Workers in India Die Young of Silicosis

The young Indian workers who grind the gemstones that go into our jewelry work one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. The grinding process creates clouds of silica dust, which the workers breathe in, condemning them to early painful deaths of silicosis.

Film by: Cassie Rusnak

For more information, visit: www.nlcnet.org

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[Shannonbarnesdr1]

great awarness film sad too many sweatshop and slaveery workers in all countries---- off topic but can you tellme who the song gruop is isa nd the title of the song playign at begin of your film ? thanks

[nlcnet]

@Shannonbarnesdr1 The song is called Azeem-o-shaan Shahenshah by Bonnie Chakraborty. You can download the song from iTunes, Amazon, or eMusic located below the description of the film!

[shodashi108]

Thank you NLC and Cassie Rusnak.

[nlcnet]

@shodashi108 Thank you for watching!

[P14u2nv]

And what is stopping these people from tying a rag around their noses and mouth? Or stopping the parents from doing the same for their children?

[nlcnet]

Good question! Silica dust is much too fine to be stopped by cloths or primitive masks made of rags. There are masks that catch silica dust available in the US, but these are very expensive and would not be affordable or realistic in rural India.

[yakipasu]

Why do these people have kids? whyyyy? Even animals make sure that the environment is safe and good for its younger ones. Not to mean any kind disrespect to the workers in the video, they know that their kids are going to suffer through the same trauma they faced and they will die a agonizing death. I am just not able to comprehend their minds. Very very disturbing.

[WishingBones]

why they wont put something on there face, im not saying its ok, the whole situation is tragic really, but atleast some safety, if they know that breathing the dust is deadly in the long run, why not taking the minimum amount of precaution?

[paulsoapstone]

Thanks for the great video.

In Canada and specifically Ontario, we have legislation that promotes the safe use of silica and the first line of defence is replacing it when possible.

[sabatron666]

I spend a lot of time roaming around Australian mines and quarries and I see dangerous exposures to crystallized free silica on a DAILY! Certainly these indian workers have little choice but because there is little in acute symptoms, substances that cause diseases with long latency periods are universally ignored in most workplaces. A while back I saw an unverified statistic that 1 in 100 people who work in mining and quarrying in AUSTRALIA contract silicosis. Keep up the great work!

[itsmister2u]

it's really sad. we want gems. they need jobs. a cycle that never ends. nothing like blood diamonds but the end result is the same. someones suffering so someone can put a stone on someones finger.

[itsmister2u]

they just need a dust collector. of a fan. needless deaths.