Signs of Changes Taking Hold in Electronics Factories in China - NYTimes.com

“The days of easy globalization are done,” said an Apple executive who, like many people interviewed for this article, requested anonymity because of confidentiality agreements. “We know that we have to get into the muck now.” Read More:

A.M. Best revises estimate for U.S. asbestos insurance losses to $85 billion

 A.M. Best Company Inc. recently released a revised estimate of $85 billion, net of reinsurance, in losses due to asbestos claims to the United States property and casualty insurance industry. Read More:

Asbestos factory demolished in Vaishali, 55 countries have banned asbestos

 Bitter resistance against the cancer causing asbestos based plant of West Bengal based company Utkal Asbestos Limited (UAL) and the insensitivity of the government towards the fatal threat of asbestos fibers to villagers resulted in the blockade of 12 km stretch of Mahuwa-Hazipur Road in Bihar from 6 O’ clock in the morning to 3 O’ clock in the afternoon. Read More:

Bangladesh Fire Exposes Safety Gap in Supply Chain

In all, 112 workers were killed in a blaze last month that has exposed a glaring disconnect among global clothing brands, the monitoring system used to protect workers and the factories actually filling the orders. After the fire, Walmart, Sears and other retailers made the same startling admission: They say they did not know that Tazreen Fashions was making their clothing. Read More:

Occupational health a neglected area in India - Times Of India

 In India, where labour is cheap and industrial workers aplenty, it should not come as a surprise to know that occupational health is a neglected field in which no comprehensive data or surveys are available. Read More:

Tokyo court orders state to pay 1 billion to compensate asbestos victims | The Japan Times Online

The Tokyo District Court ordered the central government Wednesday to pay 1.06 billion in redress on behalf of workers who contracted asbestos-related diseases such as lung cancer at construction sites due to insufficient official countermeasures, but it let the makers of materials using the mineral off the hook. Read More: