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Opinion 
Ignorance is not Bliss &ndash; Testing to Know your Status
In this article, some controversial issues of voluntary versus routine testing are discussed. Let us know your opinion; write to <a href="mailto:hiv.aids@icem.org">hiv.aids@icem.org</a>. 
 
Of the one million Americans with HIV, some 250,000 do not know that they are infected. If they do not know, they will not seek treatment and they are more likely to infect others. The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) of the US Department of Health and Human Services therefore recommends that all Americans between the ages of 13 and 64 should be routinely tested for HIV. 
 
The tests would not be compulsory but rather than testing only those who asked to be tested, the CDC wants clinics to test everyone who does not refuse to be tested, or the opt-out clause. In this way, HIV can be detected earlier, and the earlier it is detected the easier it can be treated. 
Some 40% of Americans who are diagnosed HIV positive progress to full-blown AIDS within a year of that diagnosis, which suggests that they were infected without knowing it for as much as a decade. 
 
The number of Americans with HIV increases every year. This is partly because drugs are keeping people alive longer. But the number of new infections has not fallen. It remained stable because people who are HIV positive do not know their status. 
 
With routine testing, doctors also hope to reduce stigma which is one of the largest barriers for people to avoid testing. The head of the World Health Organisation&rsquo;s (WHO) AIDS Department, Kevin de Kock, is quoted as saying that routine testing is a big step towards &ldquo;normalising&rdquo; HIV. 
 
Will routine testing lead to mandatory testing? Doing away with written consent forms and pre-test counselling to simplify procedures as part of routine testing is certainly a dangerous development and poses threats to human rights. 
 
Views have also begun to shift in Southern Africa. In 2004, Botswana became the first African country to introduce routine testing in its health sector, with Malawi and Lesotho following suit. Here the hope is also that by offering HIV testing as a routine part of any treatment, more people would be encouraged to know their status and that, over time, stigma will lessen. 
 
Zambia has initiated routine testing at health facilities in a bid to eradicate the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, by transforming it into an &ldquo;ordinary disease&rdquo;. 
 
The Botswana authorities claim that very few people are opting out when confronted with the possibility to be tested and that a large majority of the population now know their status. 
However, the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA) has criticised the government for failing to launch a public information campaign, arguing that routine testing is only acceptable if patients know that they can refuse. Informed consent, counselling, confidentiality and access to treatment must be guaranteed. 
 
The WHO currently holds consultations on provider-initiated testing. Testing for HIV serves as an entry point for both prevention and treatment. Taking an HIV test is arguably the most influential driver for behaviour change. If a person tests negative, the focus must be on education and support to ensure that the person takes responsibility to remain negative. 
A person testing positive must be supported to take responsibility for managing HIV/AIDS as a chronic treatable disease, and to bring about changes in behaviour that will prevent further transmission. Antiretroviral treatment must be available. 
 
The GBC/COSATU Guide quoted below sets out principles for counselling and testing at the workplace. Together with the unions, companies must take steps to: 
&bull; prevent any discriminatory practices against HIV status; 
&bull; ensure confidentiality and informed employee consent; 
&bull; ensure that there is no penalty if an employee chooses not to get tested; 
&bull; ensure that testing is not in the form of pre-employment screening or mandatory testing; and 
&bull; reduce stigma against people living with HIV in the workplace. 
 
[Source: The Economist, 30 September 2006, from which the headline &ldquo;Ignorance is not bliss&rdquo; is also taken and various web postings of the UN Integrated Regional Information Networks. 
A Practical Guide for Business Managers: Accelerating Access to HIV Counselling and Testing was published by the Global Business Coalition (GBC) Africa Office and the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in its 2nd print in August 2005.] 
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Facilitators&rsquo; Guide on Counselling and Testing 
 
In December 2006, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance based in Brighton, UK, published a Facilitators&rsquo; Guide entitled &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s Talk about HIV Counselling and Testing.&rdquo; The guide is a toolkit to build NGO/CBO capacity to mobilise communities for HIV counselling and testing. It makes specific reference to the significant policy changes that have occurred to models of HIV testing and the recent CDC recommendations (see article above). 
 
The publication, which is available in English and Spanish, can be downloaded from the Alliance&rsquo;s website <a href="http://www.aidsalliance.org">www.aidsalliance.org</a>. Established in 1993, the Alliance is a global partnership of nationally based organisations working to support community action on HIV/AIDS. 
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Russia &ndash; European AIDS Treatment Group Demands Action 
 
With an estimated HIV prevalence of 1.1%, the Russian Federation is one of the European countries hardest hit by the HIV epidemic. 
 
In a letter to the Russian Minister of Health Care and Social Development, the European AIDS Treatment Group deplores the serious shortcomings in standards of HIV care in the Russian Federation. Despite the fact that the alarming prevalence figures have been well known for years, the country has not scaled up treatment programmes to cover all in need of medication. 
 
The European AIDS Treatment Group appeals to the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development to amend treatment guidelines. They must include, among other strengthening guidelines, the provision of antiretroviral drugs which conform to international standards; attention to the specific needs and requirements of injecting drug users, who represent 80% of all HIV cases in the country; and to adjust national healthcare budgets and the treatment programmes, under the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to treat all patients in need. 
 
(Source: Break-the-Silence e-forum on HIV/AIDS, 3 January 2007. You can join by sending a blank message to <a href="mailto:join-break-the-silence@eforums.healthdev.org">join-break-the-silence@eforums.healthdev.org</a>) 
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Caribbean &ndash; AIDSs Crisis Blamed on Ignorance 
 
Delegates at a Caribbean Summit on HIV/AIDS blamed widespread ignorance for the AIDS crisis in the region. Ignorance is undermining the efforts to fight the spread of the disease in the Caribbean, which has the second highest rate of infection after sub-Saharan Africa. 
An estimated 500,000 people &ndash; or 2.4% - are HIV-positive. In 2005, an estimated 24,000 people died in the region from AIDS, making it the leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 44. 
 
Discrimination by employers and others is so pervasive that people do not go for testing and infected persons often delay seeking treatment for the virus. A contributing factor is also that it is still largely perceived as a &ldquo;gay disease.&rdquo; Social stigma associated with the disease keeps many sufferers from receiving life-prolonging medicines. 
 
(Source: Web posting on <a href="http://www.planetout.com">www.planetout.com</a>, 22 January 2007) 
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India &ndash; Generic Drugs 
 
India has become the premier drug provider for the developing world by producing cheaper generic versions of some of the world&rsquo;s most effective medicines, including antiretroviral drugs. But the country&rsquo;s decision to adhere to international patent regulations could limit access to generic drugs in the developing world. In future, when the country&rsquo;s patent laws will hinder its pharmaceutical companies from producing the latest drugs as generic versions, prices will go up. 
 
Some estimates indicate that Indian generic drug firms provide treatment for 50% of HIV-positive people in the developing world. The Indian generic drug company, Cipla, alone provides one in three HIV-positive people in Africa with antiretrovirals. 
 
Pharmaceutical companies in India are, however, seeking to expand their market to wealthy nations &ndash; a move that could come at the expense of the world&rsquo;s poor. In addition, the change in India&rsquo;s patent laws has led many foreign drug firms to enter the market and target India&rsquo;s growing middle class. 
 
(Source: Web posting on <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com">www.medicalnewstoday.com</a>, 10 January 2007, referring to a Christian Science Monitor article). 
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Global Fund Round 7 
 
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will call for proposals for Round 7 on 1 March 2007. The deadline for submission of Round 7 proposals is set for 4 July 2007. Having learned from past experience, the Fund is encouraging early planning. A call for proposals for Round 8 will be issued on the same date in 2008. 
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ICEM Resource Guide on Website 
 
In the January issue of the e-bulletin, we reported on the African Regional Workshop on fundraising and project writing. One of the tools used at the workshop was the ICEM Guide on HIV/AIDS Resources and Funding. 
 
<a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0701ICEMHIVAIDSGuideEN.pdf">The Guide is now available on the ICEM website</a>, in <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0701ICEMHIVAIDSGuideEN.pdf">English</a> and <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0701ICEMHIVAIDSGuideFR.pdf">French</a>. A Spanish translation is being prepared. 
 
The Guide takes account of the fact that funding resources are decentralised and largely accessible at the national level. The introductory part refers to small-scale funding from national AIDS commissions and resources from employers, especially companies with which the ICEM has signed Global Agreements. 
 
It gives fact-sheets on relevant intergovernmental organisations such as ILOAIDS, UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, WHO, and the World Bank and lists a number of foundations and other organisations engaged in the fight against HIV/AIDS. An annex explains in more detail the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, its structures and procedures.

ICEM HIV/AIDS e-bulletin - No. 17

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Global Labour University, supported by the ILO and by Germany&rsquo;s Hans Boeckler Foundation and Friedrich Ebert Foundation, is offering a pair of Master Programme labour courses in 2007. The courses take place at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, and at Germany&rsquo;s University of Kassel and the Berlin School of Economics. 
 
&ldquo;Labour Policies and Globalisation&rdquo; (Germany) and &ldquo;Labour and Development, Economic Policy, Globalisation and Labour&rdquo; (South Africa) are the titles of courses. Registration submissions can be found at <a href="http://www.global-labour-university.org">www.global-labour-university.org</a>. 
 
Deadline for application to the course in Germany is 1 April 2007. Deadline for the South African portion of this programme is 1 October 2007. 
 
The language of the courses is English, and the curriculum consists of issues relating to sustainable development, social justice, and international labour standards; and trade unions, economic policies, and global institutions. Successful applicants also have the possibility to study one term of the programme in South Africa and one term in Germany. 
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The curriculum is jointly developed by universities and trade unions from around the world and is aimed at those students who have experience with labour and social movements, and who are willing to assist organisations in these fields to engage more effectively in social dialogue, public debate, and policy implementation. 
Women are strongly encouraged to participate. Applicants should, as a rule, not be older than 40 years of age. 
 
A limited number of scholarships are available. An endorsement by a trade union is a requirement for a scholarship. The scholarship is conditional on a contribution of &euro;1,500 from the supporting trade union, or another donor. Please consult the website above for further information. More information can be also found here, in <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0701GLU2007EN.pdf ">English</a>, <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0701GLU2007FR.pdf ">French</a>, <a href="/wp-content/migration/icem/0701GLU2007SP.pdf ">Spanish</a>.

Global Labour University Offering 2007 Courses in Germany and South Africa

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Two union networks of Brazilian chemical workers met recently. Union leaders of Brazilian federations of Akzo Nobel are meeting today and tomorrow, 29-30 January, in S&atilde;o Paulo. And workplace leaders from three of DuPont&rsquo;s major manufacturing sites in Brazil met in the same city on 24 January for a planning meeting. 
 
The Akzo Nobel meeting represented the fourth time trade unionists convened. On tomorrow&rsquo;s agenda, managers have been invited for discussions. The talks will centre on the Dutch-based company&rsquo;s corporate social responsibility plan. Trade unionists from Akzo Nobel&rsquo;s multiple S&atilde;o Paulo worksites are attending, including the Itupeva and Reposa Taveres sites, and from the company&rsquo;s Tintas Division. 
<img height="99" src="" width="100" alt="" />
The Brazilian DuPont network meeting saw 12 participants attend from three DuPont sites, including the chemicals plant at Guarulhos near S&atilde;o Paulo, the Barra Mansa worksite in Rio de Janeiro, and a chemicals facility in northern Bahai State. The network is planning further meetings for 18-19 April, at which time Brazilian management of DuPont will be invited. 
 
Chemical union leaders from two Brazilian national centres were represented, Central &Uacute;nica dos Trabalhadores (CUT) and For&ccedil;a Sindical (FS).

Brazilian Union Networks for DuPont, Akzo Nobel Meet

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ExxonMobil is not going to escape the fact that it has to answer for Indonesian human rights crimes occurring in the 1990s. That decision came from a US Appeals Court on 17 January, after the world&rsquo;s biggest energy company attempted to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 11 Indonesian citizens. 
 
The alleged crimes came when Mobil was opening the Arun gas fields in joint development with the Suharto government. At the time, Suharto&rsquo;s regime was deploying brutal methods to put down a separatist movement in the Aceh region on the northern tip of the Sumatra Island. 
 
The lawsuit contends that Suharto agreed to provide army troops during the development, and that Mobil provided logistical and material support to the troops. Troops used the company&rsquo;s facilities and equipment to &ldquo;interrogate, torture and murder Acehnese civilians suspected of engaging in separatist activities,&rdquo; the lawsuit states. Following Suharto&rsquo;s forced leave from office, independent investigation teams did find several mass graves connected with the human rights atrocities. 
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The lawsuit is legitimate in US courts because of the Alien Tort Claims Act, a 216-year-old American statute that allows persons from other countries to hold accountable, either American citizens or US-based corporations, when violations of international law are committed outside of the US. 
 
ExxonMobil filed a review of the case in the US Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington, after a US Federal District Court denied a prior request for dismissal. 
 
This American court case has special significance inside Indonesia. Under a negotiated autonomy agreement implemented last year for Aceh, the Indonesian government has pledged to establish a special court by July 2007 to hear the thousands of human rights cases that have been pending after 30 years of regional strife on Sumatra.

ExxonMobil in Dock for Indonesian Human Rights Crimes

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French unions held successful manifestations on 22 January at Shell France refineries over possible the possible sale of three facilities. FCE-CFDT, FO, CGT, CFE-CGC, and CFTC joined as one to call on the Anglo-Dutch company to assure full employment and maintain all social rights of workers in the event of divestiture. 
 
On 11 January, Shell France confirmed reports from late last year that three French refineries, as well as a petrochemical refinery in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, were up for &ldquo;strategic review.&rdquo; The French sites include the large Berre-l&rsquo;Etang solvents refinery, and refineries at Petit-Couronne and Reichstett-Vendenheim. Some 2,500 of Shell France&rsquo;s 3,600 workers would be affected by asset sales of the three refineries. 
The unions held a press conference at Berre after presenting management with a petition calling for respect and honest social dialogue with workers before any sale occurs. Some 1,500 workers are employed there. Similar petitions were handed to Shell management at Petit-Couronne and Reichstett, where 550 and 240 workers are employed. 
<img height="150" src="" width="115" alt="" />
&ldquo;We request from any potential buyer a clear plan for the facility,&rdquo; FCE-CFDT Union Representative Jean-Luc Bildstein told Agence France Presse. &ldquo;For now, we do not see a strike occurring but if Shell does not hear our demands, other actions will be considered.&rdquo; 
 
The one-day manifestations were considered a success since the vast majority of Shell workers at each site turned out for the protests.

French Unions Mobilise as Shell Prepares to Sell Refineries

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Polish mining unions stood their ground with the country&rsquo;s Economic Ministry over total privatisation of two coal mining companies, as well as the sale of several mines of Europe&rsquo;s largest coal producer, Kompania Weglowa (KW). A compromise agreement was reached late on 22 January between 12 miners&rsquo; unions and Economy Minister Piotr Wozniak, an agreement which halted a planned 24-hour warning strike, scheduled to start on 24 January. 
 
Coal miners balloted to strike on 18 January after 62% of the country&rsquo;s 122,000 affected miners voted by 97% in favour of industrial action. A general strike was to follow the warning strike on 1 February if the privatisations and a plan to link miners&rsquo; salaries with production were not reached. 
&nbsp;<img height="53" src="" width="100" alt="" />
The compromised consensus agreement states that the privatisation of mines will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and on condition that the government retain a majority stake in the coal sector. The Economic Ministry last September proposed the sale of state-run companies Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa (JSW) and Katowicki Holding Weglowy (KHW), as well as selling some of KW&rsquo;s 17 pits, as part of the government&rsquo;s mining sector reorganisation strategy for the years 2007 to 2015. 
 
The trade unions, including the ICEM affiliate Miners&rsquo; and Energy Workers&rsquo; Section of Solidarnosc, have been critical of the government&rsquo;s minimum investment programme for coal mining, and feel that partial privatisation or management buy-ups of some mines could inject the necessary capital. 
 
The issue of the remuneration-to-productivity ratio is still unresolved, and the mineworkers&rsquo; unions are hopeful that continued dialogue with the government will solve this important issue.

Strike Threat Curbs Polish Government’s Privatisation of Coal Sector

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The general strike that has paralysed the West African nation of Guinea since 10 January ended 27 January. The country&rsquo;s unions, including ICEM mining affiliate SYNAMIC/ONSLG, reached a compromise with beleaguered President Lansana Cont&eacute; to cede some of his near absolute powers. 
 
Guinea&rsquo;s trade unions, backed by some 14 opposition parties, forced Cont&eacute; to concede authority to a yet-to-be-named prime minister, who will run the government. The ending of the strike also produced a pledge from Cont&eacute; to immediately reduce fuel and food prices. 
The ICEM reached SYNAMIC General Secretary Yamodou Tour&eacute; last week, after he had been twice jailed by police and gendarmerie during the strike. Tour&eacute; said he was among some 20 leaders who negotiated with Cont&eacute; until late in the evening of 25 January. Earlier that day, a commission that included government officials, union leaders, and civil society representatives met to work out the new powers for the prime minister. 
<img height="115" alt="" src="" width="250" />
The 72-year-old Cont&eacute; sacked former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo in April 2006. The strike started after Cont&eacute;, in December, released one of Guinea&rsquo;s wealthiest men, employers&rsquo; association leader Mamadou Sylla, and former minister Fode Soumah from prison. The two, both close associates of the reclusive president, had been imprisoned on corruption charges. 
 
The peaceful general strike was met with heavy-handed force by Guinea&rsquo;s riot police. At least 59 demonstrators were killed during the 18-day strike, including more than 30 on 22 January when police sprayed automatic weapons fire into a citizens&rsquo; protest in the capital city of Conakry. 
 
Tour&eacute; was among a handful of labour leaders arrested on 17 January as they led a group of some 200 demonstrators on a march to the National Parliament. The leaders were released later that day following negotiations led by National Assembly Speaker Aboubacar Sompare. Tour&eacute; also serves as secretary general for the Organisation Nationale des Syndicats Libres de Guin&eacute;e (ONSLG), one of the main national labour centres in Guinea. 
He was arrested again five days later, on 22 January, the bloodiest day of the strike, when a presidential guard led by the president&rsquo;s son, Ousmane Cont&eacute;, stormed a union meeting. Some 30 trade union leaders were then taken to Cont&eacute;&rsquo;s home on the Samory military grounds near Conakry. They were released in the early morning hours of the next day. 
<img height="96" src="" width="100" alt="" />
Ironically, it was those arrests and late night meeting with Cont&eacute; that set the stage for last week&rsquo;s negotiated end to the general strike. 
 
The strike brought Guinea, one of the world&rsquo;s most impoverished countries, to a standstill. It crippled exports of bauxite, the country&rsquo;s major cash source, after miners at one of the country&rsquo;s bauxite mines, Sangaredi, downed tools. 
 
Workers of the Christian miners&rsquo; union, FSAMCA, also played a key role in the strike, after they were told by their union to join the strike on 19 January. Miners belonging to all unions at the country&rsquo;s national bauxite company, Compagnie des Bauxites de Guin&eacute;e (CBG), effectively brought the company to a halt. 
 
CBG is operated by Alcoa World Alumina, through its Halco joint venture with Canada&rsquo;s Alcan, with the two North American companies owning 51% of the enterprise, and Guinea&rsquo;s government the remainder. Russia&rsquo;s giant aluminium producer Rusal also has substantial holdings in the country. 
 
Guinea is the world&rsquo;s leading producer of bauxite.

Unions in Guinea End General Strike

Two recent and separate attacks by lawless militia groupings in Iraq have incensed the ICEM, the Global Union Federation for the energy sector. Both attacks, one random, on 16 January,&nbsp;in which a dedicated trade unionist was slain, the other, on 11 January,&nbsp;a targeted slaying of oil engineers in route to a union&rsquo;s press conference, &ldquo;reflect the failures of both the occupation forces and of the al-Maliki government,&rdquo; according to ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda. 
 
The ICEM was appalled to learn of the death of Mohammed Hameed, a dedicated trade union organiser of the Federation of Workers&rsquo; Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI). He was among a group of 15 civilians who were randomly gunned down in an open marketplace in southern Baghdad near his home. Hameed had been out on a walk when he was caught in a hail of gunfire.
<img height="142" alt="" src="" width="134" />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <img height="143" alt="" src="" width="120" />
&nbsp;Manfred Warda&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Falah Alwan&nbsp;&nbsp; 
&ldquo;It hurts tremendously when a trade unionist is killed in a situation like this,&rdquo; stated Warda. &ldquo;Brother Hameed was a person who had the vision and fortitude to help build a just and decent civil society inside Iraq.&rdquo; Hameed, who was in his 30s, scored several advances last summer for oil industry workers in the Baghdad area, who constantly attempt to escape poverty conditions in the strife-ridden area. 
 
He is survived by his wife, who is an active trade unionist herself inside the service sector side of the&nbsp;FWCUI, and two children. 
 
The second incident occurred five days earlier, when militia gunmen abducted eight engineers of the Iraqi Oil Ministry as they were travelling in a vehicle to a FWCUI press conference on fuel price increases. Four of the kidnapped victims were released. One engineer, Abdukareem Mahdi, was later found dead, after being tortured. The other three, Nazar Fattah, Adil Yahia and Ahmed Maulood, remain missing and are presumed dead.
&ldquo;We are disappointed with the response from the government and the lack of information given us by the authorities on these heinous crimes,&rdquo; said Falah Alwan, the president of FWCUI. &ldquo;The Iraqi government must take responsibility for the lawlessness that has become so prevalent in the oil industry, as well as for the obvious security deficiencies that has allowed ordinary workers to be killed every day.&rdquo;
<img height="100" alt="" src="" width="100" />
The ICEM also calls on the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to fully investigate the abductions and killings on 11 January, and to make serious efforts to apprehend the drive-by gunmen responsible for the random killings on 16 January.

ICEM Condemns Killings Within Iraq’s Oil Industry

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Last month, North American ICEM affiliate United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) negotiated the biggest pay and benefit increase in the US coal industry since 1974, winning a 32% wage and pension increase over a five-year period. The union negotiated the agreement with the Bituminous Coal Operators Association (BCOA), which will establish the pattern for several US coal operators in the coming months. 
 
UMWA membership of some 20,000 miners ratified the contract with 80% approval on 21 December. The contract took effect for 3,200 actives miners and 10,000 retirees in six US states at Consol Energy Inc. on 1 January. It includes a 20% across-the-board wage increase over the five-year period, and a future retiree benefit hike of $10-per-month for every year of service. In addition, UMWA&rsquo;s members at Consol received a US$1,000 bonus at the first of the year. 
 
&ldquo;There are no concessions, no givebacks in this agreement,&rdquo; stated UMWA President Cecil Roberts. &ldquo;There are only gains for current members, retirees, and their families.&rdquo; 
<img height="98" alt="" src="" width="150" />
&ldquo;This is the largest wage increase we&rsquo;ve negotiated since 1974. Over the life of the agreement, a miner working at the top rate will see over US$32,000 more in his paycheck for just working straight time,&rdquo; said Roberts in a statement. A mineworker represented by the UMWA had been averaging US$20.42-per-hour prior to this contract taking effect. 
 
Coupled with funds guaranteed through the US government&rsquo;s renewal of the federal Abandoned Mine Land Fund, the new contract assures that health care coverage, with all benefits included, will be maintained with no cost increases to workers for co-payments. Roberts said that other coal companies will be bound to the new BCOA contract&rsquo;s pension provisions, since they are part of the UMWA&rsquo;s 1974 Pension Fund.

UMWA in US Negotiates Highest Gains with Coal Companies since 1994

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A 4 January pipeline leak of some 4.5 tonnes of the chemical hexamethylene diamine (HMDA) at a BASF nylon intermediates plant near Bellingham, Teesside UK, was termed a &ldquo;major incident,&rdquo; causing injuries to 37 workers, including one worker still in serious condition at a North-East UK hospital. 
 
Two other workers had been hospitalised up until late last week. One of the two underwent plastic surgery for burns to the face. Hexamethylene diamine is a component in the manufacture of synthetic material nylons, and is a corrosive substance which causes chemical burns when contact with the skin and eyes is made. It also causes damage if breathed into the lungs. 
 
The incident injured both BASF staff and contract workers employed at the chemical plant. 
<img height="90" alt="" src="" width="90" />
ICEM UK affiliate GMB, which represents some workers at the plant, said it will involve itself fully in investigations now underway by the UK&rsquo;s Health and Safety Executive and the Environmental Agency. &ldquo;When there is an accident of this nature, we always have questions about safety and why it happened,&rdquo; GMB Regional Secretary Tom Brennan told a local newspaper, the Northern Echo. &ldquo;I can assure you, there will be questions raised over safety procedures, equipment, and machinery. There will be a complete review.&rdquo; 
 
Twenty of the workers were decontaminated at the worksite, but 17 others were rushed to hospitals. 
<img height="99" alt="" src="" width="100" />
BASF, the world&rsquo;s largest chemical concern, has had two other serious health and safety occurrences in recent years at this operational site. The German company&rsquo;s previous site, in Wilton, a town close to Bellingham, was struck by a massive fire in 1995. And four years later, a worker who inhaled cyanide fumes died. BASF was fined ₤20,000 in 2002 for that workplace death. 
 
BASF bought the nylon intermediate plant on Seal Sands Road in Bellingham in 1985.

Chemical Leak at BASF in UK Injures 37, One Seriously

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