Are you dying for a new patio this summer?
Maybe you're not but literally thousands of Indian quarry workers are due to silicosis in the production of natural stone products. Adults and children, some as young as twelve, are working in unsafe conditions.
Rina Chandran reports that in the Indian state of Rajasthan there are up to one million workers suffering from "silicosis or other respiratory diseases".
"Although there is no comprehensive data, hundreds, possibly thousands, have died of silicosis, an incurable lung disease caused by long-term exposure to silica dust given off in the mining and processing of sandstone and limestone."
Is it ethical that British gardeners' vanity and desire for Indian natural stone is greater than the lives of people whose life is endangered in order to supply it?
Landscapers, designers and especially suppliers, must do so much more in order to eradicate unsafe working conditions.
Also, British landscape suppliers must do so much more by working together as a cohesive group to educate professionals about the risks involved to others when Indian sandstone products are specified on a landscaping project.
Image: Thompson Reuters Foundation
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