National occupational health service policies and programs for workers in small scale industries in China

Over the 14 years since economic reform began, and the restructuring of the economy to encourage international trade, a large number of township enterprises have been developed and put into operation in the Peoples Republic of China. From 1978 to 1991, the number of enterprises has increased 11.5 times; the number of employees has increased 2.4 times; the fixed assets have increased 13.7 times; and the value of the total output has increased 22.5 times. In this article, a report is given on a sample survey in 30 counties in 1990, which showed that 82.69% of rural industrial enterprises had at least one type of occupational hazard in their work environments. Workers engaged in at least one type of hazardous working environment accounted for 33.91% of the blue-collar workers. Physical examinations were performed for seven types of occupational diseases: silicosis, coal worker's pneumoconiosis, asbestosis, chronic lead poisoning, benzene analogs poisoning, chronic chromium poisoning, and noise-induced hearing loss. The total detectable rate of the seven types of occupational diseases was 4.4% among those workers. In addition, 11% had illnesses suspected of being (though not proven to be) caused by occupational exposures. Most township enterprises do not provide basic occupational health services. The coverage of five routine occupational health service activities provided for township enterprises were very limited, from 1.4 to 36%.