Chemical safety, Vol.4 No.1: 14-15 May 1997Chemical safety in Mongoliaby N. Ayush |
Mongolia is a country where the chemical industry is not widespread. Chemicals are used, however, to exploit natural resources and to process raw materials derived from agriculture and animal husbandry, such as skin, hide, wool and cashmere. Some precautionary measures are taken to minimize the potential risks and to secure the safe use of these chemicals.
Laws and regulations on protection from toxic chemicals and on the use and transport of chemicals in agriculture have been formulated in Mongolia. Maximum permissible levels of chemicals in workplace air have been set.
The steps to ensure chemical safety that have been taken so far, however, as well as implementation of the national laws and regulations on chemical safety, are considered insufficient. Statistics on occupational diseases indicate that from 1989 to 1995, the occurrence of chemical-related diseases has increased by 2.4-fold (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Occurrence of chemical-related diseases
The main reasons for this increase are thought to be:
1. Both the state and employer organizations are not taking sufficient action to improve working conditions or to secure occupational safety. Until 1990, the trade unions handled the formulation of national policy on occupational safety, and were responsible for monitoring the implementation of occupational safety measures. In accordance with the national structural reforms, the Government has borne responsibility for formulating and monitoring occupational safety policy thereafter. Owing to the low level of regulation and an inadequate inspection system, however, the Government is unable to maintain occupational safety measures that are appropriate to the new economic conditions. As a result, national policy on occupational safety lags behind the current situation. As the example given below illustrates, seems that Mongolia has not been able to have a high benefit from foreign investments.
In February 1997, an accident occurred at a factory which turns out pure copper. Because of the accident, a large amount of sulphuric solution was released and covered a total area of 0.54 acr. The factory is a Mongolian Canadian joint venture factory; the Canadian partner being an investment company. The team investigating the accident determined that the accident was caused by the joint venture company's failure to comply with national laws and regulations on occupational safety and health. The Company had not been granted permission to begin its operations, and the factory's technology and equipment had not been tested or approved for use. Moreover, the factory lacked the equipment to monitor occupational safety (e.g. there was no equipment for determining the sulphuric concentration in the air, on the surface or underground).
According to the occupational hygienic standard of Mongolia, the permissible level of sulphuric concentration in the air is 1 mg/m|. Measurements made at the factory, however, indicated that during the accident, the level of sulphuric solution was 300-400 times higher than the permitted level in the electrolysis workshop, and 76.8 times higher than the permitted level in the operator's room. According to official regulations, any newly established industrial enterprise should comply with the competent inspection organizations, and must obtain permission to begin operations. The plant did not adhere to these regulations when it commenced operations. If news about this accident had not been publicized in the mass media, the community at large would not have known about it.
Last year uranium was discovered during the mining of coal in Baganuur. To this day, no action has been taken to determine its affect level, to prevent it from causing harm or to protect the health of workers in the mining industry.
2. Many small private industries and enterprises have sprung up in Mongolia. The level of occupational safety and health in these undertakings is inadequate. Most of these industries and enterprises operate in unsuitable places without permits, and most of them do not comply with the pertinent regulations on occupational safety and health.
Most of the people working in small industries and enterprises are not trade union members, and they face difficulties in being accepted for membership of a trade union. These people therefore have only a limited opportunity to be protected by collective agreements. Therefore, reformulation of national laws and regulations on occupational safety and health is urgently needed.
A few days ago, a young man employed in a small, privately owned dry cleaning factory died on the job while he was repairing equipment. On the days prior to the fatal accident, he had been injured on the job several times. The employer, the worker himself and the organizations responsible for occupational safety and health all share responsibility for this fatality, because they ignored indications that it was impossible to continue the repair work.
3. Workers have insufficient knowledge of occupational safety and health issues. Workers are in need of instructions and advice concerning their work, and they need guidance in how to implement the relevant OSH recommendations and regulations.
Workers employed at sites where chemicals are used - such as ornamentation work at construction sites and painting workshops of the wood industry - lack special equipment and personal protective clothes. The same applies to people working in small-scale industries in skin processing. This means both that workers do not know enough about chemical safety and also that employers pay little attention to implementation of the Act on Chemical Safety and other relevant legislation on occupational safety and health. In addition, the trade unions and competent officials have not taken action to provide workers with protective equipment, to improve workers' awareness of occupational safety, or to raise the standard of compliance with the rules and regulations on occupational safety.
The economy of Mongolia has begun to develop. The state policy on occupational safety and health should be revised in order to correspond better with the current, and the future, economic situation. With this aim in mind, Mongolia should take the following steps:
1. ILO Convention concerning Occupational Safety and Health and the Working Environment (No. 155), the Convention concerning Occupational Health Services (No. 161) and the Convention concerning Safety in the Use of Chemicals at Work (No. 170) should be ratified. In addition, the national laws and regulations should be adjusted, to bring them in line with these Conventions.
2. A national labour inspection system should be created, and the contribution of public organizations to occupational safety and health, especially the participation and role of trade unions in OSH work, should be increased.
3. More comprehensive labour statistics should be collected, general awareness of occupational safety and health should be enhanced, an OSH information network should be established, and resources should be concentrated in order to expand research work aiming to improve working conditions.
4. Workers should be provided with information on chemical and occupational safety and health, and they should have access to the Internet. Worker training should be conducted, at the expense of the Government and employers.
5. Cooperation between trade unions and employers should be developed and reinforced, with a view to implementing the laws and regulations on occupational safety and health, especially as pertains to chemical safety. The mechanisms of social consultation also need strengthening.
N. Ayush, Head
Social and Economic Policy Department
Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions
Sq. Sukhbaatar-3
Ulaanbaatar-11, Mongolia