News from the Yunnan Provincial Government Executive Meeting is that regulations have been passed to deal with the serious problem the province has had over a number of years with occupational diseases.

Statistics show that 290,736 people are at risk from occupational health hazards, with 13,868 pneumoconiosis cases and 4,568 deaths, a death rate of 32.9%.

According to the regulations, employment units should inform employees of the possible occupational hazards, the prevention measures, wages, and insurance when signing labor contracts with employees. Workplaces with high occupational health hazards should be monitored at least once a year by an occupational health service institution, and workplaces using toxic materials should be examined at least once a month.

For occupational health surveillance, employment units should pay the fees for occupational health checks, medical observation, and medical follow-up.

Projects involving hazards in the national classification and directory of occupational diseases with no evaluation of occupational hazards control, or without prevention facilities being checked and accepted by health administrative departments, are not allowed to be put into operation. Employment units that fail to follow the regulations will be severely punished.

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