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May-June 2002:

HIV plan saves lives and cash [South Africa] - Cosatu and the Treatment Action Campaign are to table a national HIV/Aids treatment plan in Nedlac following the first national treatment conference, which concluded in Durban this week. This will allow Cosatu to declare a dispute with government and business should no agreement be reached in the National Economic, Development and Labour Council on implementation of the treatment plan. (Kerry Cullinan, Business Day [South Africa], 30 June 2002)

Chinese Legislature Ratifies Five Laws -...The work safety codes outlaw malfeasance and any obvious or hidden threat to workers' lives in any work place. A spate of disastrous accidents recently have resulted in high casualties and economic losses. (Xinhuanet, 29 June 2002)

Poor work conditions fuel unrest in China - The plight of millions of migrant workers toiling for meagre wages in southern China has been thrown under the spotlight by a three-day textile worker riot. It started after security guards beat up an employee for jumping a meal queue. (James Kynge, Financial Times, 29 June 2002)

Analysis: HIV / AIDS and reputation management in the Pharmaceutical Industry (Lynne M Copeland, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 28 June 2002)

Senate panel votes to ban mercury thermometers [USA] (Reuters, 28 June 2002) 

Gujranwala: Gepco observes 'safety day' [Pakistan] - The Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) observed a 'safety day' on Thursday and held a seminar to urge the linemen to adopt protective measures at work. (Dawn [Pakistan], 28 June 2002)

What has the ACFTU done? [China] – An Interview with the Wife of a Jixi Mine Blast Victim - On June 20, a gas explosion with 115 fatalities took place at the Chengzihe Coal Mine in Jixi, a city in Heilongjiang province. On June 25, a victim’s wife told China Labour Bulletin that the compensation offered by the Jixi Mining Bureau (JMB) was unreasonable, and that the mine was guarded by the police to prevent further negotiations with the victims’ families. (China Labour Bulletin, 27 June 2002)

Abbott Rolls Out New Effort to Combat Malaria, AIDS in Africa - Returning from a recent trip to Tanzania, Abbott Laboratories Chief Executive Officer Miles White has decided to invest in Tanzanian communities and improve the company’s efforts to combat AIDS and malaria throughout Africa. (BSR [Business for Social Responsibility] News Monitor summary of article in Wall Street Journal, 27 June 2002)

Peru's Yanacocha eyes deposit in disputed gold site -...Cajamarca, where some residents fear that mining Quillish will sully their water supply and threaten public health, is fighting Yanacocha [mining company] in court to keep the site hands-off for mining (Missy Ryan, Reuters, 27 June 2002)

Fire kills at least 42 workers in shoe factory in India - Shree Jee International, a footwear manufacturing unit based in Agra, India and exporting to among others the UK and Ireland...At the time of the accident the only door at the entrance of the factory was locked...Shipping documents indicated that the shoes were meant for Barratts Co. [UK], Jacobson Footwear [UK]. (Clean Clothes Campaign, 26 June 2002)

Survey says sawmillers and families face 'health risk' [New Zealand] - A survey of 60 former sawmill workers and their families in the Eastern Bay of Plenty has found many suffer a wide range of illnesses, including cancer and depression. The report commissioned by lobby group Sawmill Workers Against Poisons (SWAP) and approved by the Ministry for the Environment, local health authorities and an ethics committee, found many workers blamed their illnesses on chemicals used at their former workplaces. (New Zealand Herald, 26 June 2002)

EPA says 28 pct of US lakes have contaminated fish - More than one-fourth of the nation's lakes have advisories warning consumers that fresh-caught fish may be contaminated with mercury, dioxins or other chemicals, the Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday...Eating fish that contain high concentrations of mercury, dioxins, PCBs and other industrial chemicals can be especially harmful to pregnant women and children, according to the EPA. (Reuters, 26 June 2002) 

Death And Injuries of Farm Labourers Including Children [Egypt] -...Indeed, these children are often working up to 12 hours a day, 6 days per week, and with only one meal per day...Exposure to pesticides, causing diarrhoea, vomiting, faintness or difficulty to breathe is frequent. (World Organisation Against Torture, 25 June 2002)

HIV/AIDS II: U.S. Forum Urges Business To Do More To Combat Disease - The increased support of small businesses is especially important if corporate efforts against the global HIV/AIDS pandemic are to make progress, Corporate Council on Africa President Stephen Hayes said yesterday at a U.S. State Department-sponsored forum. (Michael Kitchen, UN Wire, 25 June 2002)

China Speeds up Legislation on Work Safety - The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, is stepping up legislation on work safety. The draft Law on Work Safety was submitted for the third review (Xinhuanet, 25 June 2002)

Heilongjiang Coal Mine Explosion Kills 115 Miners [China] (China Labour Bulletin, 25 June 2002)

Who's Mixing Your Drugs? Bad medicine [USA]: Pharmacy mix-ups a recipe for misery - Some drugstores operate with very little oversight -...Thousands of neighborhood pharmacies across the country make hundreds of compounded products. Yet there is little oversight by either federal or state regulators to ensure that drugs made by compounders are safe or effective...The case of Doc's Pharmacy illustrates how doctors, as well as their patients, are unaware of the risks inherent in pharmacy compounding. The contaminated drug ultimately killed three patients and hospitalized 10 others. It shattered lives, prompted one suicide and has spawned a series of lawsuits. (Erin Hallissy, Sabin Russell, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 June 2002)

Search continues for tanzanite miners [Tanzania] - Rescue workers continued their search for the bodies of at least 32 miners who died of suffocation in northern Tanzania after an air compressor failure in a tanzanite mine (Cape Argus [South Africa], 22 June 2002)

RJR hit with $15M in damages [USA] - Federal judge slaps tobacco firm R.J. Reynolds with $15M in punitive damages in smoker case - A federal judge ordered cigarette maker R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. Friday to pay $15 million in punitive damages to a smoker whose legs were amputated, the latest in a string of multimillion-dollar awards against the industry. In setting the punitive damages, U.S. District Court Judge John Lungstrum called RJR's concealment of the addictive nature of tobacco "particularly nefarious." (Reuters, 21 June 2002)

Climate 'future health threat' [scientists warn that infectious diseases will rise as the world gets warmer] (Helen Briggs, BBC News, 21 June 2002)

Retreat on Fighting Global AIDS -...Washington's contribution to the global fund, which should be on the order of $2.5 billion a year, is about a tenth of that...Washington should also end its campaign to restrict the use of generic drugs to treat AIDS and other diseases...But it [U.S. policy of opposing use of generic drugs for treating AIDS] does reflect the wishes of the drug companies — several of which sponsored a $30 million fund-raiser Wednesday night for Republican candidates at which President Bush spoke. (editorial, New York Times, 21 June 2002)

• HIV/AIDS: New York Times Slams New Bush Initiative -...The Times blames political opportunism, saying the president's initiative "does reflect the wishes of the drug companies -- several of which sponsored a $30 million fundraiser Wednesday night" for candidates from Bush's Republican party (UN Wire, 21 June 2002)

Australia's uranium mines come under spotlight - Australia's uranium mining will come under the spotlight of a parliamentary inquiry after a recent series of leaks, spills and reporting failures [refers to mines owned by Rio Tinto; Heathgate Resources Ltd, a subsidiary of U.S.-based General Atomics; WMC Ltd] (Reuters, 21 June 2002)

Old US power plants emit twice as much pollution - report - Aging, U.S. coal-fired power plants released twice as much sulfur dioxide into the air than newer plants that are required to meet stricter environmental standards, according to a report from Congress' investigative arm. (Reuters, 21 June 2002)

Opposing PVC, Opposing IFC [India] - Communities around a major industrial park in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu in South India -- already reeling from the impacts of pollution from the industrial park -- are fed up with business as usual and have stepped up their efforts to put a stop to the latest proposal for another polluting factory in the area [proposed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) factory being proposed by Chemplast Sanmar, an Indian corporation] (Amit Srivastava, CorpWatch India, 20 June 2002)

Corporate secrecy oils the wheels of poverty - While oil, gas and minerals are by far the largest sources of state revenue for the world's poorest nations, these resources, which should help fund development and sustainable economic growth, all too often turn out to be a curse, leading to increased poverty, child malnutrition and civil conflict. At the heart of this paradox is the secrecy surrounding payments by oil and mining companies to governments - a lack of transparency that provides the perfect cover for corruption and embezzlement by ruling elites. (Simon Taylor, Director of Global Witness, in International Herald Tribune, 20 June 2002)

High street shops under attack for their ethics [UK] - High street shops have scored poorly in a survey rating businesses on their support for ethical trading practices. The survey...awarded marks to businesses according to their stance on issues such as child labour, poverty wages and poor working conditions. The Co-op, Body Shop and DIY chain B&Q all scored highly. But the survey said most high street shops either had no code of conduct to cover unfair trading issues, refused to publish one or declined to allow their codes to be independently checked. (Henrykl Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner [UK], 20 June 2002)

Jury Awards $5.5 Million in a Secondhand Smoke Case [USA] - The nation's biggest tobacco companies [Philip Morris, R. J. Reynolds, Lorillard and Brown & Williamson] suffered their first defeat in a secondhand smoke case this week, and they said yesterday that they would use the setback to challenge a critical ruling governing the $349 million settlement they struck with the nation's flight attendants nearly five years ago (Greg Winter, New York Times, 20 June 2002)

Brazil fines Shell for toxic pesticide pollution - Brazil said this week it had fined oil and chemical giant Royal Dutch/Shell 105,200 reais ($38,963) for contaminating the environment in its second investigation caused by toxic pesticide operations. (Reuters, 20 June 2002) 

ILO annual Conference adopts new measures to tackle the challenges of globalization - The International Labour Organization (ILO) concluded its 90th annual Conference today after adopting a series of measures designed to promote a more rigorous approach to tackling the challenges of globalization and create an "anchor" for personal security through poverty reduction, job creation and improved workplace health and safety. (International Labour Organization, 20 June 2002)

• LABOR: ILO Ends Meeting By Adopting New Measures On Globalization (UN Wire, 21 June 2002)

TANZANIA: Country, UNIDO Team Up Against POPs - Tanzania plans to increase its efforts to implement the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (UN Wire, 20 June 2002)

• PMO, UNIDO embark on anti-pollution drive [Tanzania] (Peter Nyanje, Guardian [Tanzania], 18 June 2002)

• TANZANIA: Two Dangerous Pesticides Reportedly Still In Use - Two insecticides on the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants list of dangerous chemicals are still in use in Tanzania (UN Wire, 18 June 2002)

• Dangerous chemicals not banned in Tanzania - expert (Peter Nyanje, Guardian [Tanzania], 17 June 2002)

TOBACCO: WHO Implicates Second-Hand Smoke In Several Kinds Of Cancer - Second-hand tobacco smoke can cause a wide variety of cancers, a group of experts working for the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer said yesterday..."this is the first time a group of independent scientists have reviewed all the evidence and said there is no question it is a cause of lung cancer" (UN Wire, 20 June 2002)

Sellafield children have increased cancer risk [UK] - study - Children whose fathers worked at the Sellafield nuclear power plant have twice the normal risk of developing leukaemia which may be due in part to the dose of radiation the men received. (Reuters, 20 June 2002)  

NIGERIA: Focus on pollution in Lagos -...According to medical sources, respiratory ailments due to air pollution have become one of the leading problems encountered in the city's hospitals...Medical experts do not find the development surprising considering that Lagos is a city of cars and electricity generators. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 20 June 2002)

Plea for safer construction sites [Australia] - Maori workers across the Tasman have made a passionate plea for safety improvements in the Australian construction industry. About 100 Maori and Polynesian workers marched through Sydney, stopping traffic. (One News [New Zealand], 20 June 2002)

• Haka and coffins during Maori protest [Australia] - The sound of a 100-strong Maori haka rang out in downtown Sydney today as union members protested over the issue of safety at Australian building sites. (NZPA, 20 June 2002)

Power deregulation fueled pollution - NAFTA agency - North American power companies, the continent's biggest polluters, slashed spending on energy efficiency programs by 42 percent between 1995 and 1999, in part because of the deregulation of electricity markets, an environmental watchdog [Commission for Environmental Cooperation...created under the North American Free Trade Agreement] said this week...That added to air pollution in the United States, Canada and Mexico, which hurts both the environment and human health, the agency said (Robert Melnbardis, Reuters, 19 June 2002)

US residents can sue for nuke exposure - court - A federal appeals court yesterday ruled thousands of Washington state residents could sue over illnesses blamed on a Cold War plutonium plant, reversing a lower court dismissal of most of the claims...Many of the plaintiffs claimed radiation had caused thyroid cancer, as well as bone, breast and salivary cancer...The defendants include several industrial companies that ran the plant until 1986, including General Electric Co. and DuPont Co. (Reuters, 19 June 2002)

Chambers team with UN to combat AIDS - World Chambers Federation (WCF) has joined forces with UNAIDS as an official partner of the 2002-2003 World AIDS campaign. Using WCF's global network of chambers of commerce to share experience and spread information, UNAIDS says it hopes to take the battle against the epidemic to the work place and highlight the fact that AIDS is an economic problem as well as a health problem. (World Chambers Federation, 17 June 2002)

Work deaths shock OSH [New Zealand] - Workplace deaths have soared this year - the Labour Department's occupational safety and health division has ordered investigations into 71 fatal accidents. (Sunday Star Times [New Zealand], 16 June 2002)

McDonald's and Coke fund healthy eating drive - Fast food companies including McDonald's and Coca-Cola are helping to fund a multimillion pound advertising campaign urging Americans to eat more healthily. In an effort to avoid tobacco-style lawsuits, food giants including Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Heinz are to use internet, TV and press ads to warn consumers that eating too much fast food will make them fat. (Claire Cozens, Guardian [UK], 14 June 2002)

US to relax air pollution rules for utilities - The Bush administration yesterday said it will relax costly air pollution rules when US utilities are repaired or expanded, triggering a storm of protest from environmental groups and some Democrats. (Chris Baltimore, Reuters, 14 June 2002) 

• NY to sue Bush Administration over utility rules - New York State's attorney general said he would the sue the Bush Administration over the US Environmental Protection Agency's decision yesterday to ease rules that now limit air pollution by coal-burning utilities....New York State, along with other Northeast states, in the past has sued Midwest and Canadian utilities, charging that smog and acid rain they produce has turned Adirondack lakes acidic, killed forests, and caused respiratory diseases. (Reuters, 14 June 2002) 

• Details of US utility pollution rule changes - The Bush administration yesterday eased anti-pollution rules for US utilities, oil refineries and industrial plants undergoing repairs or expansion. (Reuters, 14 June 2002)

Mine Owners and Local Authorities Collude in Fatal Accident Cover-ups [China] - A serious mine accident in Shanxi province has sparked another public outcry, carried by the official press in China, against the cover up of dangerous and illegal operations which have caused thousands of deaths and injuries in the country's mining industry. (China Labour Bulletin, 13 June 2002)

A Medical Journal Eases Conflict Rule - The New England Journal of Medicine is relaxing its strict conflict-of-interest rules for authors of certain articles because it cannot find enough experts without financial ties to drug companies. (Associated Press, in New York Times, 13 June 2002)

Nestlé S.A. to become Founding Corporate Sponsor of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' Africa Health Initiative -...Nestlé's contribution to ARCHI 2010 will be concentrating initially on Africa's most populous country, Nigeria, and on the prevention of the transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus in that country (Nestlé, 13 June 2002)

Biotech sector urged to focus on problems of poor countries - The biotechnology sector must develop drugs and crops that address problems in the developing world, and work more closely with non- governmental organisations, if its growing international presence is not to provoke a backlash, according to an industry leader [Carl Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organisation] (Geoff Dyer, Financial Times, 12 June 2002)

"The private sector as service provider and its role in implementing child rights" - Committee on the Rights of the Child - Day of General Discussion - Friday, 20 September 2002– Palais Wilson, Geneva -...The focus of the day of discussion will be on the impact of increasing participation of private sector actors in the provision and funding of state-like functions on the implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child. While the Committee is entirely conscious that the business sector can impact children's rights in a wide variety of ways, it has chosen to focus on exploring the various issues emerging from privatisation and the assumption by non-governmental organizations or businesses of traditional state functions, i.e. in the health and the education sector, in the provision of institutional care, legal assistance, treatment of victims etc., given the high relevance of this trend to the work of the Committee. (United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child) [posted to this website on 12 June 2002]

Cleaner off-road diesel vehicles may save 8,500 lives [USA] - report - The Bush administration should adopt tough federal pollution emission standards for bulldozers, farm tractors and other off-road diesel vehicles to prevent 8,500 premature deaths and 180,000 asthma attacks each year, state and local environmental regulators said in a report released yesterday. (Tom Doggett, Reuters, 11 June 2002)

Taiwan workers mull US lawsuit over toxins - Taiwanese workers who used to make televisions and semiconductors for a US-owned factory have told officials here that employees at the plant suffered illnesses because they were unknowingly exposed to toxic chemicals. More than 200 employees of a former Radio Corp of America (RCA) facility in Taiwan's northern county of Taoyuan died, and about 1,500 still suffer from cancer, said the workers...Richard Knoph, a spokesman for RCA's current owner, Thomson Multimedia of France, denied any correlation between the workers' illnesses and the facility (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, in Asia Times, 11 June 2002)

High court ruling called setback for disabled, ill [USA] - In another setback for disabled-rights claims in the workplace, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that employers can reject applicants for jobs that would endanger their health. The ruling, in the case of a Southern California refinery worker with a liver disease, alarmed advocates for HIV-positive people and the mentally ill, who said cost-conscious employers could exaggerate or invent health concerns to turn applicants away. (Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 June 2002)

• Supreme Court Rules Disabled Workers Can be Kept From Dangerous Jobs [USA] - The Supreme Court said companies don't have to hire disabled workers for jobs that would be dangerous to their health. In a victory for employers, the justices said ChevronTexaco Corp. didn't run afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act when it denied a California man a job at its El Segundo refinery. (Scott Ritter, Dow Jones Newswires, 10 June 2002)

Thompsons set to help SA's asbestosis victims [South Africa] - Thompsons Solicitors, the UK's largest personal injury practice specialising in representing claimants who have contracted work-related illnesses, has thrown its weight behind SA workers suffering from asbestos-linked diseases...Ntulinoble & Spoor has already registered a large number of claimants and issued 36 summonses...on behalf of workers who had previously worked at African Crysotile Asbestos and what the attorneys described as controlling companies, including Gencor, Msauli Asbestos (Msauli) and Hanova Mining. (Business Day [South Africa], 10 June 2002)

Germany signals dramatic widening in food scare - Germany warned yesterday of a potential explosion in a food scare over organic chicken meat contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical (Michael Hogan, Reuters, 7 June 2002)

Cosatu to visit North west mine accident scene [South Africa] - Joe Nkosi, the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) deputy president, was scheduled to visit AngloGold's Noligwa Mine (formerly Vaal Reefs) in Klerksdorp today, where two miners were killed in a rockfall on yesterday morning. (South African Broadcasting Corporation, 6 June 2002)

China sentences mine boss to death for disaster - China sentenced one county official to death and three others to lengthy prison terms for a tin mine flood last year in which 81 people were killed (Reuters, 6 June 2002)

Asbestos firm [Cape] warns of claims risk - A UK-owned building firm, which has agreed to pay £20m to South African miners over asbestos-related claims, has warned it may suffer further payouts if bankers scupper the deal...Any reopening of the legal battle, which involved a landmark judgement by law lords, could escalate Cape's losses related to the claim, the firm warned. (BBC News, 5 June 2002)

conference: National HIV/AIDS Treatment Congress Hosted by the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the Treatment Action Campaign: 27--29 June 2002, Durban, South Africa -...This historic Congress aims to unify Trade Unions, NGO's, AIDS service organisations, religious groups, health-care workers, scientists, businesses and government on the need for an emergency treatment plan to deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. [posted on this website 5 June 2002]

Labor Board Issues Complaint Against Continental Carbon Company on Behalf of PACE Locals in Oklahoma and Texas [USA] - The National Labor Relations Board regional office in Fort Worth, Texas, issued a consolidated complaint against Continental Carbon Company for two different unfair labor practice charges [threatening employees with arrest while engaged in legally protected activities, and refusal to hand over safety & health information about leaks and possible well contamination] (PACE International Union, 4 June 2002)

Aventis reawakens the war on sleeping sickness - It is a year since pharmaceutical company Aventis committed $25 million to the World Health Organization's fight against sleeping sickness, a disease that threatens the lives of 60 million people in sub-Saharan Africa and progress is already being made. (International Chamber of Commerce, 3 June 2002)

H&M builds Bangladeshi children a bridge to safe work - H&M [international clothes firm] say they worked with the ILO and other UN agencies to define the four month technical training programme which would enable teenagers to build on their initial UN education and avoid slipping back into a life of exploitation where they could risk dangerous working conditions and, in extreme cases, prostitution. (International Chamber of Commerce, 3 June 2002)

Air Pollution Boosts Cancer Risk for Americans [USA] - Breathing toxic chemicals in the outdoor air exposes all Americans to a lifetime cancer risk at least 10 times greater than the level considered acceptable under federal law, shows new data released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (Environment News Service, 3 June 2002)

Green groups push US to act on ozone problem - Ten U.S. health and environmental groups on Thursday accused the Environmental Protection Agency of "foot dragging" and threatened to sue the agency to begin enforcing a 1997 law designed to curb ozone...The stricter ozone rules are opposed by large industries including truckers and power generators. (Christopher Doering, Reuters, 3 June 2002)

Health - Pesticides - EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] torn on how to regulate herbicide: Chemical linked to cancer, deformities - Atrazine's major manufacturer, Syngenta AG of Switzerland, says it will offer studies of its own to refute the frog research. (John H. Cushman Jr., New York Times, in San Francisco Chronicle, 2 June 2002)

India: 400 child labourers rescued - Around 400 children from Bangladesh and Kolkata, working as bonded or child labourers in Nagarathpet, Bangalore, were rescued. They have been working with jewellery-making units without pay for the last five years. The fume filled environment of these units exposed them to lung disease and TB. (from Economic Times [India], in Child Labour News Service, 1 June 2002) [scroll down on linked page to find this item]

Bangladesh: Govt to rehabilitate 10,000 child labourers under a pilot project - A pilot project has been taken up that would initially cover Dhaka and Chittagong metropolitan cities. Under this 10,000 child labourers would be withdrawn from selected hazardous sectors and provided non-formal education and skill development training. . Moreover, 5,000 parents of those children would get micro-credit to enable them to do income generation activities (from Independent [Bangladesh], in Child Labour News Service, 1 June 2002) [scroll down on linked page to find this item]

Lead poisoning hits kids in battery units [India] - About 90% of children working in the battery industry in Bangalore suffer from lead poisoning (from Economic Times [India], in Child Labour News Service, 1 June 2002) [scroll down on linked page to find this item]

Report: Global threats to workers’ health and safety on the job (Garrett Brown, certified industrial hygienist & Coordinator of the Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 1 June 2002)

Backgrounder: Child Labor in Agriculture - Of nearly 250 million children engaged in child labor around the world, the vast majority- 70 percent, or some 170 million-are working in agriculture...Their work is grueling and harsh, and violates their rights to health, education, and protection from work that is hazardous or exploitative...In investigations in Egypt, Ecuador, India, and the United States, Human Rights Watch has found that the children working in agriculture are endangered and exploited on a daily basis. (Human Rights Watch, June 2002)

Statement of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights -...the Committee observes with concern the overall decline in living conditions, particularly in connection with pressures of globalization and the shrinking role of the State, as more and more social services are turned over to non-State entities who have no comparable commitment to the progressive realization of economic, social and cultural rights, nor to the protection of the environment. The Committee has observed, for example, that the right to health is violated by "the failure to enact or enforce laws to prevent the pollution of water, air and soil by the extractive and manufacturing industries." [para. 3] (United Nations, Background Paper No. 5 for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Fourth Preparatory Session, 30 May 2002) [to download this pdf file directly, click here: http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/prep4_background_papers/humanrights_background5.pdf]

Trees, Trash And Toxic Leaded Petrol Targeted In This Year's World Environment Day Celebrations In Kenya -...The action plan to phase out lead in petrol is to be drawn up by representatives of governments, industry and civil society from countries including Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya. (U.N. Environment Programme, 30 May 2002)

US EPA urges recycling, not dumping, computers -...Under a new recycling program proposed yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), fewer of the lead-contaminated relics would be buried in local landfills. (Chris Baltimore, Reuters, 30 May 2002) 

TOBACCO: WHO, Others Campaign Against Sports Ads - The World Health Organization and other health advocates launched a campaign yesterday, two days ahead of tomorrow's World No Tobacco Day, to dissociate tobacco and sports, charging the link between the two has led to dramatic increases in smoking rates. (UN Wire, 30 May 2002)

China Capacity Building Project - Occupational Health and Safety - Final Report -...The project [at factories producing for Reebok, Nike & adidas] has resulted in the creation of young, but functioning, worker-management committees, including one committee supported by a democratically elected union. These committees are the first step in building systems for worker participation in evaluating and improving health, safety, and environmental conditions inside these factories. (Project Coordinating Committee, 29 May 2002)

Gold diggers draw ire from environmentalists -...environmentalists insist, gold mining is dangerous to people's health and ruinous to the environment. The mining industry, in general, acknowledges the environmental sins of the past and promises to do better. (Peter Galloway, Reuters, 29 May 2002)

Blaze in Indian Shoe Factory Kills 44: Global Union Demands Measures to Clean Up Industry - In the wake of a fire on May 24 at the Shri Ji International factory shoe factory in the Indian city of Agra which left 44 workers dead and 15 injured, the global union federation representing footwear workers worldwide has called on the Indian government to take immediate measures to prevent such a tragic loss of life from happening again. (International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation, 29 May 2002)

NamPower workers take HIV test [Namibia] -...Among ideas being floated in the company's corridors is the provision of anti-retroviral drugs to HIV-positive employees. (Christof Maletsky, The Namibian, 28 May 2002)

No Water? Drink Coke! [India] - On 22 April, 2002, more than 2,000 irate protestors, consisting mostly of indigenous people and dalits (oppressed castes), gathered at the gates of the Hindustan Coca Cola factory in Plachimada, Palghat district, Kerala. Residents from the villages surrounding Coke's greenfield soft-drink bottling factory here say that Coke's indiscriminate mining of groundwater has dried up many wells, and contaminated the remainder. At least 50 villagers have maintained a picket outside the factory gate every day since the strike began. ( Nityanand Jayaraman, CorpWatch India, 28 May 2002)

Danger: People Working [USA] - Education, Regulation Aim to Cut Job Deaths - (Kirstin Downey Grimsley, Washington Post, 28 May 2002)

Workplace Precautions That Can Save Lives -...An important first step is establishing a safety committee to review possible risks and find ways to mitigate them. (Washington Post, 28 May 2002)

VACCINES: UNICEF Chief Warns Of Global Shortage -...The Globe and Mail reports the root of the problem is an ongoing pharmaceutical industry shakeup, with mergers leading to the cancellation of production of relatively unprofitable childhood vaccines. Another factor is that since countries commit funds to UNICEF one year at a time, the agency can sign only one-year contracts with vaccine providers. (UN Wire, 28 May 2002)

• Shrinking supply of basic vaccines alarms Unicef chief (André Picard, Globe and Mail [Canada], 28 May 2002)

TOBACCO: WHO Seeks Tougher Asian Laws To Protect Children - Asian children are taking up smoking in ever-larger numbers, and countries in the region must implement comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising and sales in order to save lives, the World Health Organization said today (UN Wire, 28 May 2002)

AWU working with country women to boost farm safety - The Australian Workers’ Union has joined forces with the Country Women’s Association in a WorkSafe campaign to stop workplace deaths on farms. (Australian Workers Union, 27 May 2002)

Government told to practice what it preaches on health and safety [UK] -...The TUC will be highlighting action Government needs to take to implement its own Revitalising health and safety strategy (TUC, 27 May 2002)

New Basel Guidelines To Improve Recycling Of Old Batteries (United Nations Environment Programme, 27 May 2002)

• {···français} Nouvelles Directives De La Convention De Bâle Pour Mieux Recycler Les Batteries Usagées Tout En Protégeant La Santé Humaine Et L'environnement (Programme des Nations Unies pour l'environnement, 27 mai 2002)

TGWU says company directors who neglect workers' safety should be jailed [UK] (Ananova, 27 May 2002)

Biotech foods no riskier than other foods - GAO [U.S. General Accounting Office] study - Genetically modified foods pose no greater health risk than conventional foods, but the U.S. government should scrutinize more closely the safety of new biotech products, the investigative arm of Congress said. (Randy Fabi, Reuters, 27 May 2002) 

Chief executives ignore a mass murderer cutting a swathe through workers and customers [South Africa] - According to the latest survey conducted by Deloitte & Touche and commissioned by the SA Business Coalition on HIV/Aids, South African companies do not have a strategy to deal with the threat of HIV/Aids. But most shocking is that business leaders do not seem to think that HIV/Aids will have an impact on their employees, and therefore their businesses. (Business Report [South Africa], 26 May 2002)

Shell Brazil unit may be shut as toxic case looms - Oil and chemical giant Royal Dutch/Shell might have to shut down its big fuel unit in Brazil amid a second investigation of alleged environmental and health damage caused by its toxic pesticide operations, local authorities said yesterday. (Andrei Khalip, Reuters, 24 May 2002)

OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS: ILO Says 2 Million Die Annually (UN Wire, 24 May 2002)

• Work-related fatalities reach 2 million annually (International Labour Organization, 24 May 2002)

INSECTICIDES: Effects More Serious Than Previously Thought, Team Says - Scientists working in Ecuador have discovered that human exposure to insecticides may be causing death and illness at a rate almost 20 times greater than had been estimated, the World Bank said yesterday. (UN Wire, 24 May 2002)

• New Research in Ecuador Simplifies Policy Decisions on Health and Environment - The health consequences of insecticide use—and misuse—in the high Andes of South America may ultimately be far greater than previously thought (World Bank, 23 May 2002)

FIFA Bags Top Health Award: World Cup To Be Tobacco Free - The World Health Organization’s highest tobacco control award will be given to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in recognition of its tobacco control work, culminating in its decision to declare the 2002 World Cup tobacco free..."Since 1986, FIFA and indeed the other sponsor companies have rejected tobacco companies from the pool of official sponsors of the World Cup or any other FIFA competition..." said Keith Cooper, FIFA Director of Communications. (World Health Organization, 23 May 2002)

• {···français} La FIFA remporte un grand prix de la santé: La Coupe du Monde sera sans tabac (Organisation mondiale de la Santé, 23 mai 2002)

Jamaica adopts 'Platform for Action' on HIV/AIDS - Jamaica was among 13 Caribbean countries that recently adopted a 'Platform For Action' to respond to HIV/AIDS by targeting the workplace at the community, national and regional levels, following last week's Caribbean Labour Organisation conference in Barbados. (Jamaica Observer, 23 May 2002)

Sactwu Adopts Groundbreaking HIV/Aids Policy [South Africa] - The Southern African Clothing & Textile Workers Union has adopted an historic policy and action programme to help combat HIV/AIDS in the clothing, textile and leather sectors specifically, and in South Africa in general. (Congress of South African Trade Unions, 22 May 2002)

Bodies of six mineworkers killed at Orkney recovered [South Africa] (South African Broadcasting Corporation, 22 May 2002)

GAO warns MTBE fuel leaks in water more widespread [USA] - Contamination of water supplies by MTBE is more widespread in local communities than previously thought, because the gasoline fuel additive has leaked from pipelines across the United States, the General Accounting Office warned Congress yesterday. (Tom Doggett, Reuters, 22 May 2002)

36 asbestos claims cite Gencor as a defendant [South Africa] - Summonses on behalf of 36 former asbestos workers were issued in the Johannesburg high court yesterday against four mining companies [African Crysotile Asbestos, Msauli Asbes, Gencor and Hanova Mining]...for damages amounting to R25 million for asbestos-related illnesses. (Ronnie Morris, Business Report [South Africa], 22 May 2002)

AIDS Healthcare Foundation to Bar GlaxoSmithKline Sales Reps from Outpatient Facilities Over Drug Pricing For Developing World - GlaxoSmith Kline, which is the largest producer of HIV/AIDS medications, charges twice as much for their drugs in the developing world as all other HIV pharmaceutical companies. In addition, GSK does not make major charitable donations to aid people with AIDS in the developing world. (AIDS Healthcare Foundation, 21 May 2002)

• company website: GlaxoSmithKline in Global Partnership with HIV/AIDS Communities (GlaxoSmithKline)

• company website: Global Community Partnerships (GlaxoSmithKline)

55th World Health Assembly -2002 IBFAN report on infant feeding issues - World Health Assembly Resolution removes commercial influences from infant feeding programmes (IBFAN - International Baby Food Action Network, 21 May 2002)

Cosatu says mining industry still not enforcing safety laws [South Africa] - Trade union federation Cosatu says the recent disaster at the Noligwa Mine in the North West shows the mining industry is still not enforcing safety laws. (702 Talk Radio [South Africa], 21 May 2002)

HEALTH: Research Benefits the Few, Overlooks Prevailing Diseases - A sharp imbalance continues between the resources earmarked for researching diseases predominant in the industrialised world and for those prevalent in poor countries, but experts and activists are confident that the disparity can be reduced. (Gustavo Capdevila, Inter Press Service, 20 May 2002)

Inter-regional workshop on occupational safety and health in agriculture - The Inter-regional Workshop on Occupational safety and Health in Agriculture was held on May 13- 16, 2002 in Damascus in collaboration with the International Labor Organization, and the ministry of social affairs and labor, Syria and the Arab Labor Organization (ArabicNews.com, 20 May 2002)

New regulations to protect workers' health [China] - A new regulation was enforced Sunday to help improve the health of employees working with poisonous and dangerous materials. The regulation, issued by the State Council, is expected to reduce the increasing number of diseases brought about by poisonous materials in the workplace...Chronic poisoning caused by benzene has become quite severe, especially in firms making bags, toys, and shoes made with leather. (China Daily, 20 May 2002)

Investigators dig on mine disaster [China] - The owner of a coal mine in North China's Shanxi Province in which 21 died spoke about the accident Sunday for the first time amid growing anger and allegations of a cover-up. (China Daily, 20 May 2002) 

Poor areas got old Coke, workers say [USA] -...dozens of Coke drivers, plant workers and salespeople are accusing their bosses of inching up profits for almost a decade by pawning off expired soda cans and bottles on minority communities across North Texas...A spokesman for Coca-Cola Bottling of North Texas, which oversees the plants and workers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, called the accusations "irresponsible and offensive." (Greg Winter, New York Times, 19 May 2002)

Ecuador Border Tainted by U.S.-Made Coca Killer - Collateral Damage from Colombia's Drug War -...In an attempt to kill coca leaf -- the raw material for cocaine -- Colombian planes are using a U.S.-manufactured herbicide near the border with Ecuador...But residents of San Francisco 2 want the spraying stopped. In February, they filed a class action lawsuit for unspecified damages in Washington against the Dyn Corp., a Virginia firm responsible for the spraying. (Reese Ehrlich, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 May 2002)

Gates' charity shifts policy - Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and a recent global health campaigner, has invested $205m in nine large pharmaceutical companies. The investment has been made through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation...Investment in drugs firms could leave the foundation open to criticism. (David Teather, Guardian [UK], 18 May 2002)

Government [UK] orders an inquiry into pesticide links to Parkinson's Disease - A study into links between pesticides and Parkinson's disease is to be commissioned to examine fears that chemicals used by gardeners and farmers can bring on the degenerative neurological illness. (Marie Woolf and Charles Arthur,  Independent [UK], 17 May 2002)

Economic benefits of high tech investment in developing countries are compromised by environmental and health costs, concludes new report - Despite voluntary efforts to reduce environmental impacts, semiconductor companies are not adequately grappling with the environmental, health and labor impacts of their production and assembly operations, especially in developing countries and global supply chains (Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development, 17 May 2002)

• full report [can be downloaded from the following page]: Dodging Dilemmas? Environmental and Social Accountability in the Global Operations of California-Based High-Tech Companies [refers to Advanced Micro Devices, Agilent Technologies, IDT Technologies, Intel, Hewlett Packard, National Semiconductor, Seagate Technologies & Solectron - based on case studies in Taiwan, Malaysia, India, Thailand & Costa Rica] (Lyuba Zarsky, Naomi Roht-Arriza & Leif Brottem, California Global Corporate Accountability Project, May 2002)

Baby Formula Makers' Actions in N. America Slammed - Two major reports severely criticizing the infant food industry's practices in the US and Canada were released here this week [refers to Mead-Johnson] (Robert James Parsons, Reuters, 17 May 2002)

Investigation launched into mill accident [South Africa] - An investigation was being launched into a fatal accident yesterday at Iscor's Saldanha Steel plant in Western Cape, the company said last night. (Business Day [South Africa], 17 May 2002)

Asbestos victims win landmark case [UK] - Three people affected by asbestos cancer have won a groundbreaking case for compensation in the House of Lords...They were appealing against previous rulings by the Court of Appeal and the High Court denying them compensation on the basis that they were exposed to the deadly dust by more than one employer...Most victims of illnesses associated with the deadly dust come from areas linked to heavy industries such as shipbuilding and engineering. (BBC News, 16 May 2002)

Pesticide company's legal bid to keep toxic secrets [UK] - Campaigners dressed in chemical suits and pollution masks and carrying chemical spray packs marked ‘top secret’ will be outside the High Court on Wednesday. They will be protesting against chemical company Aventis’ attempt to keep safety data on one of its pesticides [Glufosinate Ammonium] secret. (Friends of the Earth, 15 May 2002)

• company website: Aventis

Ukraine breaks down barriers and builds leadership against HIV/AIDS -...The seminars -- organized by the UNDP Leadership for Results programme -- are empowering participants to take action against HIV/AIDS in their workplaces and communities. (U.N. Development Programme, 15 May 2002)

Safe Companies - A practical path for 'operationalizing' sustainability -...This discussion paper presents Ecos Corporation's Safe Companies, a strategic framework for integrating sustainability principles and issues into business. (Paul Gilding, Rick Humphries & Murray Hogarth, Ecos Corporation, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 14 May 2002)

Making a Workable Tobin Tax: Interview with Joseph Stiglitz - As the world is becoming more integrated, globalization has occurred, we have more needs that need to be fulfilled at the global level, we have needs in terms of financing the war against AIDS and other international diseases, the war against terror, providing for a better environment...addressing poverty in developing countries. (interview of Joseph Stiglitz, Sonia Mikich, Monitor, 13 May 2002)

Worked Till They Drop: Few Protections for China's New Laborers -...guolaosi. The phrase means "over-work death," and usually applies to young workers who suddenly collapse and die after working exceedingly long hours, day after day...Foreign outcry over sweatshop labor has led some multinational firms to monitor conditions in their factories and among their direct suppliers. But a system of subcontracting has undermined such measures. (Philip P. Pan, Washington Post, 13 May 2002)

'Control migration of health workers' - [South Africa's] Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang told a meeting of the Commonwealth Ministers of Health in Geneva yesterday the recruitment of health workers from developing countries must be controlled by bilateral agreements between such countries and developed nations. (SAPA, in Dispatch [South Africa], 13 May 2002)

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: U.N. Forum Meets For First Time - The U.N. Economic and Social Council's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues today begins its first annual two-week meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York, bringing together indigenous leaders and civil society representatives...The body is charged with advising the Economic and Social Council on development, culture, human rights, the environment, education and health and with raising awareness, promoting the integration of U.N. activities related to indigenous peoples and preparing and disseminating information (UN Wire, 13 May 2002)

• Historic Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues breaks new ground for world's indigenous peoples (United Nations, 10 May 2002)

POLIO: Wyeth Gives $1 Million For Eradication In Africa - Drug maker Wyeth today contributed $1 million to help the Polio Eradication Private Sector Campaign's Global Polio Laboratory Network eradicate polio in African countries still affected by the disease. (UN Wire, 13 May 2002)

US to release first-ever measurement of dioxins - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said last week it will release as early as next week new pollution data that for the first time tracks emissions of the cancer-causing chemical dioxin. (Reuters, 13 May 2002)

Aid can kill with kindness, say Thai mussel farmers [criticism of Asian Development Bank for funding project which was intended to clean yup polluted canals, but dumps toxins on mussel farms, making the seafood dangerous to eat and nearly impossible to sell] (Erin Prelypchan, Reuters, 13 May 2002)

Fishermen's plight under spotlight [South Africa] - Western Cape politicians are demanding a probe into working conditions in the fishing industry after 25 fishermen have died in less than a month. (Nashira Davids, Sunday Times [South Africa], 12 May 2002)

Union wants smoking banned in London pubs and restaurants [UK] -...Paul Kenny [London Regional Secretary of GMB union] said that the union's members were falling ill due to second-hand smoke. (This is Ealing [UK], 10 May 2002)

CHILDREN: U.N. Says Pollution Kills Millions Yearly - More than 5,000 children die daily from diseases caused by consuming water and food contaminated with bacteria, according to a new study released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the U.N. Environment Program...The agencies say pollutants in the environment -- toxic chemicals, lead from gasoline, pesticides -- directly affect children (UN Wire, 10 May 2002)

• Pollution-Related Diseases Kill Millions of Children a Year - Alarming Numbers Part of New UN Report Released for Child Conference (World Health Organization, 9 May 2002)

• {···français} Des millions d’enfants meurent chaque année de maladies liées à la pollution Un nouveau rapport des Nations Unies fait état de chiffres alarmants (Organisation mondiale de la Santé, 9 mai 2002)

CELL PHONES: Group Warns About Dangerous Waste In U.S. - U.S. environmental research group INFORM said in a new report this week that cellular telephones are being discarded in the United States by the hundreds of millions despite containing persistent toxins -- arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc -- that are associated with cancer and neurological disorders, particularly in children. (UN Wire, 10 May 2002)

• 130 million cell phones will be discarded annually in the US by 2005: Study recommends ways to reduce the environmental and health impacts of cell phone waste (INFORM, 8 May 2002)

• full text of report: Waste in the Wireless World: The Challenge of Cell Phones (Bette K. Fishbein, INFORM, May 2002)

• Old mobile phones pose growing waste issue - report (Eric Auchard, Reuters, 10 May 2002)

Europe's sweetmakers dismiss US toxic chocolate claims - Europe's confectioners yesterday strongly rejected a U.S. lawsuit alleging top chocolate makers had failed to disclose that some products contained hazardous levels of toxic metals such as lead. (Trevor Datson, Reuters, 10 May 2002) 

Food fortification promises improved health and productivity in developing nations - Important new alliance launched to increase access to nutrient fortified foods - The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) - a new alliance of public and private sector partners - was launched today in an effort to leverage cost-effective food fortification initiatives that promise to improve health, cognitive development and productivity in developing nations. (GAIN - Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, 9 May 2002)

Survivors of Bhopal deadly chemical disaster overshadow Dow annual meeting - Representatives of survivors of the world's worst chemical disaster in Bhopal, India, travelled with Greenpeace and other support organisations to Dow Chemical's annual shareholders meeting in Michigan, the United States today to confront the company on its pending liabilities. (Greenpeace, 9 May 2002)

Environment Minister confirms presence of asbestos following Greenpeace action - Turkish Minister of Environment, Fevzi Aytekin, has today notified all relevant authorities that Turkey must not allow the French toxic ship for scrap "Sea Beirut" to enter the country...The vessel was illegally exported from France to Turkey to be scrapped at Aliaga, one of Turkey's notorious ship breaking yards, with dangerous toxic waste on board. (Greenpeace, 9 May 2002)

TOBACCO: Small Amount Of Smoke Harms Children's Learning Ability: Study - Small amounts of second-hand tobacco smoke have been found to measurably damage children's ability to learn, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center researchers announced this week (UN Wire, 9 May 2002)

MICRONUTRIENTS: Public-Private Partnership Launches Major Initiative - Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy along with several top-ranking public and private leaders [including Procter & Gamble Chairman John Pepper] joined together this morning to announce the launch of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, a partnership to fight micronutrient deficiency in the developing world. (Michael Kitchen, UN Wire, 9 May 2002) 

Australia blocks toxic China fertiliser exports - Australian farmers spread toxic waste from China instead of fertiliser over vegetable fields before the government realised the imports were hazardous, an Australian fertiliser company said yesterday (Andrea Hopkins, Reuters, 9 May 2002)

Chocolate makers sued for lead content of products [USA] - An environmental group yesterday sued chocolate companies including Hershey and Mars for not disclosing the amount of toxic metals such as lead that are in their products, as required under California law...the American Environmental Safety Institute said research shows that dangerous levels of lead and cadmium in chocolate pose a serious health risk, especially to children...The environmental group cited Mars Inc., Hershey Foods Corp. , Nestle USA Inc. , Kraft Foods NorthAmerica Inc., Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. and See's Candies Inc. for violating California's Proposition 65 (Reuters, 9 May 2002)

EEOC and BNSF settle genetic testing case under Americans with Disabilities Act [USA] - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) today announced a mediated settlement for $2.2 million of EEOC's lawsuit which alleged that BNSF violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) by genetically testing or seeking to test 36 of its employees without their knowledge or consent. The genetic test was part of a comprehensive diagnostic medical examination that BNSF required of certain employees who had filed claims or internal reports of work-related carpal tunnel syndrome injuries against the company. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 8 May 2002)

Union wants law passed to make companies accountable for worker deaths [Canada] - Union officials are once again lobbying Ottawa for legislation to make corporate executives and managers liable for criminal or negligent acts that happen on their watch. (Canadian Press, 8 May 2002)

MALARIA: Bayer, WHO Agree On Developing Inexpensive Vaccine - German drug maker Bayer yesterday said it has signed an agreement with the World Health Organization to develop an affordable malaria vaccine for use in developing countries. (UN Wire, 8 May 2002)

EPA probing emissions from ethanol industry [USA] - WSJ - Federal regulators are investigating emissions produced by the nation's ethanol industry over concerns it may be violating the Clean Air Act (Reuters, 8 May 2002)

{···français} Les beaux jours du mal être [France] -...40 médecins du travail ont sondé un millier de salariés des grandes surfaces, d'enseignes d'hyper et de supermarchés lors des visites médicales annuelles...L'étude montre surtout au-delà de la situation alarmante, que la santé se dégrade en fonction des «conditions d'emploi». (Muriel Gremillet, Libération, 7 mai 2002)

HIV/AIDS: IAVI, Swedish Firm Cooperate On Vaccine Research - Swedish biotechnology firm Bioption AB and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative yesterday announced a partnership to develop and test new HIV/AIDS vaccines to target HIV subtypes common in developing countries (UN Wire, 7 May 2002)

• Sweden's Bioption, IAVI partnering to develop globally accessible AIDS vaccines (International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, 6 May 2002)

Business community has key role to play in fight against AIDS, Fréchette [U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette] says -...The Deputy Secretary-General noted that business could have a key impact in the fight against the disease...by making changes in the workplace, including drawing up effective AIDS policies and ensuring effective support and care for infected employees...she also underlined the role to be played by businesses as financial supporters. (United Nations, 6 May 2002)

Manufacturers back environmentalists in fertiliser debate [Australia] - The group representing Australian fertiliser manufacturers has backed environmentalists' concerns about industrial waste being used as fertiliser...They are concerned heavy metals and toxins could get into the food chain. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 6 May 2002)

US appeals court upholds EPA cut in diesel emissions [USA] - A federal appeals court last week cleared the way for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to require diesel trucks and buses to cut emissions by 90 percent by 2007, rejecting an attempt by engine makers and fuel refiners to gut the rule. (Chris Baltimore, Reuters, 6 May 2002) 

• Earthjustice Praises Court Ruling Upholding Key EPA Rule On Cleanup Of Diesel Trucks -...The result is that Americans will breathe dramatically reduced levels of deadly diesel pollution. (Earthjustice, 3 May 2002)

Cancer patients 'keep on smoking' - Even patients whose cancer has probably been caused by tobacco cannot manage to give up the habit, research [at University of Michigan] suggests...Cigarettes may cause 85% of head and neck cancers (BBC News, 5 May 2002)

TOBACCO: Hong Kong Launches Anti-Smoking Campaign -...Efforts to curb smoking are also taking place in mainland China despite the failure of efforts by attorney Tong Lihua to sue the government's State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and 24 firms under its jurisdiction for failing to carry health warnings on their Web sites...he is not currently considering filing suits against U.S. firms because a lack of punitive damage provisions in Chinese law would make such cases of little value. (UN Wire, 5 May 2002)

• Chinese lawyer takes on big tobacco: Where law is slowly taking hold, Tong Lihua celebrates small victories - In China, there are many uphill battles, and lawyer Tong Lihua has taken on at least three of them at once. His struggle, to sue China’s massive tobacco companies for enticing young smokers, takes on one of the country's most powerful industries. (Eric Baculinao, NBC News, 2 May 2002)

Employees lead the way in fighting Aids - Some South African employees are taking the lead in the fight against HIV/Aids - donating their time, salaries and services to help victims of the disease [refers to Absa and AngloGold]. (Bobby Jordan, Sunday Times [South Africa], 5 May 2002)

TUC launches campaign over workplace asthma [UK] - A fresh drive to help people with asthma is being launched as new figures show that 7,000 people a year develop the condition because of their work...The TUC says the main causes of asthma at work include the use of latex gloves, flour dust in bakeries, wood dust and substances in paints, glues and resins. (Ananova, 4 May 2002)

• 134 people develop asthma at work every week [UK] (TUC, 2 May 2002)

New IUF Publication on The WTO and the World Food System: A Trade Union Approach - Access to adequate, safe and nutritious food is a fundamental human right, yet an estimated 820 million people are living in hunger. The agricultural workers who help feed the world are often unable to feed themselves, are twice as likely to die at work than workers in any other sector, and generally stand outside all systems of legal protection for their rights, health and welfare. Food processing workers are engaged in a constant battle to defend their unions, their employment and working conditions, their health and safety. (IUF - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations, 3 May 2002)

Court says first amendment doesn't shield Nike from suit [USA]: California's highest court ruled yesterday that the First Amendment did not shield Nike from a lawsuit accusing it of fraud for asserting that its overseas workers received adequate wages and that its working conditions complied with safety regulations. (Steven Greenhouse, New York Times, 3 May 2002)

LYMPHATIC FILARIASIS: Glaxo Reaches 100 Million Donated Drug Doses [announcement made at meeting of Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis partners, including WHO and GlaxoSmithKline] (UN Wire, 3 May 2002)

• "The Global Alliance for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis is a reflection of what partnerships should be about..." said Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization. "...the role of the partners does not stop at providing resources but goes beyond to help endemic countries to advance self-sustainable lymphatic filariasis elimination programmes." (World Health Organization, 2 May 2002)

• {···français} «L’Alliance mondiale pour l’élimination de la filariose lymphatique est un modèle de partenariat...» a déclaré le docteur Gro Harlem Brundtland, Directeur général de l'Organisation mondiale de la Santé. «...le rôle des partenaires ne se limite pas à donner des ressources mais va au-delà en aidant les pays à instituer des programmes autosuffisants d’élimination de la filariose lymphatique.» (Organisation mondiale de la Santé, 2 mai 2002)

LABOUR: South Africa Feeling the Impact of AIDS on Workforce [refers to AngloGold, Gold Fields] (Anthony Stoppard, Inter Press Service, 2 May 2002)

LABOR: More Deaths Are Due To Work Than War, ILO Says - Work-related deaths claim 2 million lives a year -- the equivalent of a Sept. 11 terrorist attack every day -- making work a bigger killer than war or drug and alcohol abuse, according to an International Labor Organization study released this week...The ILO named agriculture, construction and mining as the most dangerous occupations (UN Wire, 2 May 2002)

• Work is three times as deadly as war, says UN -..."Industrialised countries are exporting their hazards to developing countries," said the ILO's Jukka Takala. Problems had been "moved to the South, where labour is not only cheaper but less protected" (Andrew Osborn, Guardian [UK], 2 May 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Jeffrey Sachs Says African Economic Development At Risk - Economic success in Africa does not have a chance unless governments provide the necessary funds to combat the rampant HIV/AIDS pandemic on the continent, renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs told the U.N. Economic and Social Council yesterday. (UN Wire, 2 May 2002)

• Under-funded AIDS fight harms African economies (Reuters, 1 May 2002)

US ruling on Western gas leases may spur lawsuits - The Bush administration's plan to spur coalbed methane development in Western states could be jeopardized by a ruling that the government failed to thoroughly analyze the environmental impacts of three Wyoming leases, U.S. green groups said this week...Environmental groups contend that when the gas is removed, sodium in the water flows into streams, harming cattle and local residents. (Christopher Doering, Reuters, 2 May 2002)

MSF comments on the Draft Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) [refers to access to life-saving medicines] (Médecins Sans Frontières, 1 May 2002)

Steelworkers launch Westray campaign [Canada] - Today, the United Steelworkers launched a campaign calling on Ottawa to make business leaders criminally accountable for the negligent acts of their corporations that lead to death or injury. (United Steelworkers, 1 May 2002)

• {···français} les Métallos lancent la campagne Westray [Canada] - Aujourd’hui, le Syndicat des Métallos lance une campagne visant à faire pression auprès d’Ottawa pour que les dirigeants d’entreprises soient tenus criminellement responsables des actes de négligence de leurs entreprises qui ont entraîné la mort ou des blessures. (Les Métallos au Canada, 1 mai 2002)

Bush Administration Issues "Toothless" Regulation for Sea-Going Vessel Air Pollution [USA] - Administration selling-out public health, ignoring Clean Air Act (Earthjustice, 1 May 2002)

WHO says genetic research could save millions of lives - Genetic research into new medicines could save millions of lives in the developing world within a few years, the World Health Organisation said yesterday...However, the WHO also warned that without greater funding of research into developing country diseases and less patenting of genetic information, these scientific advances could also lead to a widening of inequality between poor and rich nations. (Geoff Dyer, Financial Times, 1 May 2002) 

• Genome research can save millions in developing world: WHO Report Calls for Genetic Medicine Benefits for All (World Health Organization, 30 Apr. 2002)

• {···français} La recherche genomique peut sauver des millions de vies dans les pays en developpement: L'OMS publie un rapport en faveur de la médecine génétique pour tous (Organisation mondiale de la Santé, 30 avril 2002)

• GENOMICS: WHO Says Developing Nations Should Stay Abreast Of Research (UN Wire, 1 May 2002)

Worker can sue over cancer [Australia]: A former Alcoa worker yesterday won the right to seek compensation after contracting bladder cancer. (Jeremy Kelly, Herald Sun [Australia], 1 May 2002)

Green groups want bolder plans to clear China's air: Environmentalists yesterday criticised plans by Hong Kong and the Chinese province of Guangdong to reduce worsening cross-border smog, saying they were not bold nor radical enough to clear the air (Tan Ee Lyn, Reuters, 1 May 2002)

Most Americans breathe polluted air - survey [USA] - More than half of all Americans breathe polluted air that can damage their health because the government doesn't fully enforce clean air laws, the American Lung Association said today. (Reuters, 1 May 2002) 

The Integrated Approach Survey: Survey on ILO Standards-Related Activities in the Area of Occupational Safety and Health (International Labour Organization, May 2002)

• Encuesta sobre las actividades de la OIT relacionadas con las normas en el ámbito de la seguridad y la salud en el trabajo (Organización Internacional del Trabajo, mayo 2002)

• Enquête sur les activités normatives de l’OIT dans le domaine de la sécurité et de la santé au travail (Organisation internationale du Travail, mai 2002)

Mountains of Gold: Kumtor Gold Mine in Kyrgyz Republic [Kyrgyzstan] - This study points out the weaknesses of the environmental management system and the vague monitoring of the company's performance. [refers to pollution and other issues; refers to Kumtor Operating Company, Comeco Corporation of Canada (including cyanide spill accident in May 1998 at Comeco Corp. mine), Normandy Mining of Australia, Oxus Resources of UK, Taldy-Bulak Mining Corp., Malaysian Mining Corp., Kyrgyzaltin (Kyrgyzstan state-run company)] (CEE Bankwatch Network, May 2002)

Shredded: Justice for BAT - The latest major blow against the tobacco industry has been struck in Australia. There, a judge has concluded that British American Tobacco (BAT) has engaged in a massive document-destruction scheme intentionally designed to thwart smokers or former smokers from successfully bringing suit against the company. (Robert Weissman, Multinational Monitor, May 2002)

Leadership Example: Novo Nordisk: Integrating CSR Into Business Operations - Novo Nordisk [pharmaceutical company based in Denmark] is dedicated to the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach to sustainability - balancing social and environmental responsibility with economic viability. Their approach began with addressing environmental issues; bioethics, human rights and access to health care in developing countries followed in succession. (BSR Magazine, Business for Social Responsibility, May 2002)