Investigation into the death of 12 migrant workers -- china.org.cn

A team of medical experts has been sent to Yunnan by the Ministry of Health to investigate the causes of the deaths of 12 migrant workers. An inspection team has also been sent to a number of sandstone plants in Anhui Province, Chinanews.com.cn reports.

The 12 migrant workers died from a "strange disease" after returning home to Yunnan. They had been working for a number of years in sandstone plants in Fengyang County, Anhui. The Ministry of Health has taken a keen interest in the case and is taking prompt action to investigate the causes of the deaths, according to Yunnan.cn.

The migrant workers were attracted by the relatively high monthly salary of 2,000 yuan (US$293) despite the poor working conditions in the sandstone plants.

The sandstone plants are all small-scale, packed close together, just a few meters apart. Many of the businesses have no name, some do not even have a workshop, just an outdoor mill and a supply of sandstones.

The "Xuedong Quartz Sand Plant" was a name mentioned many times by the workers who became ill with the disease. But it is just an ordinary looking two or three room house with a 10 square-meter yard. The ground is covered with a layer of white dust, and the air in the rooms has a pungent odor.

A migrant worker from Sichuan said that 10 of his colleagues had been sent back the previous day after a health check because their boss was afraid they might be suffering from pulmonary disease.

The local authority has asked all the plants to stop production, has set a special work group responsible for the matter, and has organized a mass meeting to discuss safer production methods.

(China.org.cn by Jessica Zhang, March 20, 2009)