Counting out pestilence
The patterns that diseases furrow among large sections of a population provide clues to check epidemics
A deep breath of fatal dust
An incurable lung disease digs the grave for workers employed in sandstone mines and brick and cement factories
Removing the slouches and aches from keyboards
Computer manufacturers have come up with new designs for keyboards that they claim, will help users avoid painful wrists and hunched shoulders.
Killer farms
Popular imagination may paint a very idyllic picture of life on a farm. But lurking behind this rustic charm lies a dangerous occupation, farming
Steelborn
Thousands suffer in India's ship-breaking yards while an unconcerned government invites more ships for scrapping
Why we must fix toxic chemical pollution to safeguard our planet and health
Leaders gathering at Bonn next week must strengthen a global agreement that prioritises accountability for pollution from chemicals
Coal mining in India has a human cost
Communities living close to coal mines in India face the constant threat of fires and land subsidence forcing them to flee
Non-smoking beedi-rollers face cancer risk
About six million people employed in India's beedi industry risk developing cancer from handling tobacco leaves
How many people die of silicosis in Indian mines?
One of the worst health hazards that miners engaged in stone quarrying, crushing, quartz mining, glass and ceramic manufacturing face is dust …
A common class of insecticides puts farmers at high risk of diabetes
Long-term exposure to organophosphate insecticides puts the farming community at a higher risk of developing diabetes, shows a study
Last gasps
WAIT UNTIL DEATH Perspectives Audio Visuals Bengali S-VHS/Umatic 55 mins (English subtitles) Supriya Sen, Samit Basu-Mallik, Tathagatha Banerjee, …
Occupational hazard
At a Gujarat chemicals factory, workers have holes in their noses. Apathy of the owner is to blame
Comfort backpack
An improved plucking basket promises to alleviate muscular pain and fatigue, two major health problems faced by tea garden workers
Fighting for a safer workplace
Workers often fail to get proper medical treatment because they are mostly ignorant of occupational diseases.
Haunted past
The Union Carbide concealed information about radiation levels in a uranium plant for 20 years. Murky details are coming to light now
No integration in India’s disease data collection systems: Niti Aayog
White paper highlights several lacunae including shortage of human resources, occupational health, surveillance; suggests series of measures …
US asbestos industry seeks escape clause in law
Asbestos-related litigation in the us runs into billions of dollars today. So much so that the amount is estimated to exceed the combined cost of …
Life in a radiation zone
A recent accident shows why workers’ safety at atomic facilities is extremely fragile
Disinfectants harboring toxic chemicals are widely used despite lack of screening for potential health hazards
Quaternary ammonium compounds, or QACs, are increasingly marketed and used with limited evidence for their appropriateness or safety
HUL and mercury-exposed workers in Kodaikanal reach an out-of-court settlement
The settlement is historic as families of 591 workers have opted for an ex-gratia payment by the company for all that they endured while getting …
Rajasthan belatedly wakes up to health crisis among mine workers
But there is no credible data available on the number of people suffering from silicosis, an incurable disease
We still have to reach the interiors
W Selvamurthy, senior scientist at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), shrugs off the body’s responsibility towards …
Deadlocked in Aligarh
On the one hand: potholed roads, poor sewage systems, numerous small scale industries, nightmarish working conditions. On the other: clueless …
Endosulfan declared not guilty
Good news for the ever manipulative pesticide industry: the Dubey committee -- a panel of experts set up by the Registration Committee of the …
High time to address occupational hazards of waste pickers
Informal waste sector in India carry out most labour-intensive and least rewarding job; most work and live in hazardous conditions with no …