Atrocious conditions in Bangladesh tanneries

Dhaka, Bangladesh (IRIN) – Despite working 12 hours a day and exposing herself to toxic chemicals, 55-year old Taslima Begum, a tannery worker in Hazaribagh, an industrial neighbourhood in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, earns just US$40 per month. “Yes, the pay is very low and I know the health risks, but I don’t have other alternatives,” she said. The mother-of-five says she has no choice if she is to feed her family and ailing husband. Read More:

Hundreds Of Bangladesh Factory Workers Fall Sick From Suspected Contaminated Water

Hundreds of employees of a Bangladesh garment factory near the capital fell sick on Wednesday after drinking suspected contaminated water in their workplace, police and factory officials said. "Primarily we suspect the water supply of the Starlight Sweaters factory was poisoned or contaminated," local industrial police officer Mahfuzur Rahman told AFP from Gazipur, a suburb of Dhaka. Read More:

Scientific articles, intended to cast doubt on harm caused by chrysotile asbestos, were potentially part of a crime-fraud

 In a unanimous decision, five judges of a New York Appeal Court ruled (1) on June 6, 2013 that Georgia-Pacific must allow an in camera (private) review of documents and raw data related to eleven published research studies, funded by Georgia-Pacific, concerning the health effects of the company’s asbestos-containing joint compound (a product used in construction). Read More:

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: