China: The electronic wastebasket of the world - CNN.com

Guiyu, China (CNN) -- Did you ever wonder what happens to your old laptop or cellphone when you throw it away? Chances are some of your old electronic junk will end up in China. According to a recent United Nations report, "China now appears to be the largest e-waste dumping site in the world." E-waste, or electronic waste, consists of everything from scrapped TVs, refrigerators and air conditioners to that old desktop computer that may be collecting dust in your closet. Read More:

After Bangladesh, Seeking New Sources

SEMARANG, Indonesia — Bennett Model helped pioneer the exporting of garments from China in 1975, the year before Mao Zedong died, and ever since, his New York fashion company has searched for other countries, from Guatemala to Vietnam to Indonesia, capable of supplying top retailers like Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. Read More:

India reverses stand on asbestos at Rotterdam Convention meet | Down To Earth

In a retrograde move, India opposed the listing of chrysotile asbestos under Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention at the sixth meeting of Conference of Parties (COP6) on May 8 in Geneva. Substances listed under Annex III of the Convention—a global treaty to promote shared responsibilities in relation to import of hazardous chemicals—require exporting countries to advise importing countries about the toxicity of the substances so that importers can give their prior informed consent (PIC) for trade. The Convention does not ban or limit trade in such hazardous substances. Read More:

China blames illegal mining as blasts toll reaches 40

 Beijing: The death toll from two separate colliery accidents in southwest China has risen to 40, even as the authorities blamed illegal mining for the tragedies. Rescuers have saved 80 miners, while 28 others were confirmed dead in the gas explosion that took place yesterday in Taozigou coal mine in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Read More:

Enough is Enough – Stop these Murders at Workplaces in Asia | ANROEV

 The Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational and Environmental Victims (ANROEV) is deeply saddened and outraged at the recent industrial disasters in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Within a spate of 8 months more than 1300 workers have died and the toll is still rising as the bodies are being pulled out of the Rana Plaza. Just when this statement is being written there is one more fire in a garment factory in Bangladesh killing more than 7 people. Read More:

EHP – The JPC-SE Position Statement on Asbestos

Recently, the Joint Policy Committee (JPC) of the Societies of Epidemiology (SE), a consortium of national and international epidemiologic societies and organizations, released a statement calling for the global ban of asbestos use (JPC-SE 2012). This is not the first such call for an international ban (Collegium Ramazzini 2010), but it is a significant one because it is endorsed by 10 member organizations of the JPC-SE, numerous major epidemiologic and public health associations, and many epidemiologists (JPC-SE 2012). This position statement also highlights a case of global environmental injustice on a massive scale. Read More:

Rotterdam Convention in crisis, say civil society groups - Asian Ban Asbestos Network

Civil society groups attending the Rotterdam Convention conference in Geneva are expressing grave alarm that the Convention has been hijacked by the asbestos industry, which is determined to prevent the environmental and health protections of the Convention from being implemented. For the fourth time, a handful of countries allied to the asbestos industry have refused to allow chrysotile asbestos to be added to the Convention’s list of hazardous substances, even though the Convention’s expert scientific committee has repeatedly recommended that it be listed and even though it has been recognized that the listing of chrysotile asbestos meets all the criteria of the Convention. The committee’s conclusions are endorsed by all leading medical organisations and by the World Health Organisation. Read More:

Done In By The Dust

 The labour class, a great contributor to development, is the one to pay the costs of development. And so, despite environmental and labour laws, over one crore workers in India run the risk of silicosis, a lung disease caused by inhalation of silica dust in occupations such as cement-, glass- and brick-making, quarrying, mining, road-laying and all aspects of construction. Every year, silicosis kills about 30,000 people. Many of them die without treatment; their families seldom get due compensation. Read More:

Turkey Marks International Workers Memorial Day

 They say that the population of Istanbul is around 13.5 million. If I didn't know better I could have sworn that all of them were milling around in central Istanbul last Sunday morning, April 28. This is not as far-fetched as it sounds as it has been reported that on a single Saturday or Sunday up to 3 million people have been known to frequent Istiklal Avenue (Independence Avenue) one of the most famous boulevards in Istanbul and a pedestrianized space much used for parades, demonstrations and gatherings. Read More: