The rapid rise of coal use in the country's big kilns is polluting our environment as well as putting the coal workers in long-term lung health risk. About thousands of day labourers around the country, especially in Narayanganj, are being exposed to air pollution due to open-air handling of coal.
As reported in this daily on Wednesday, most of the coal workers in big kilns around the country and in Narayanganj, do not follow proper health guidelines or use any safety gears to protect themselves from the deadly coal dust.
Such a massive quantity of coal should not be handled in
open air and workers in brick kilns should always wear
safety gears such as face masks and gloves while working
However, despite all these, the workers are working in these big brick kilns for their survival. It is the duty of the owners to protect their workers and make sure that they follow proper health guidelines and use safety gears while working. What causes the harm to workers is that they work in an open atmosphere where they inhale the coal dust and expose themselves to lung diseases including fibrosis, nystagmus, anthracosis and other lung-related diseases.
Therefore, such a massive amount of coal should not be handled in open air and workers in brick kilns should always wear safety gears such as face masks and gloves while working.
In the long term, the government should take some measures like limiting operations of these brick kilns and endorsing concrete blocks. By doing so, the government should also shift these workers to a different job sector which ultimately will save them from deadly lung diseases and put a halt to air pollution caused by these brick kilns.
