Work.

 

           I wrote this little piece away back when I was first diagnosed with pleural plaques, the footprint of asbestos. As a young man in the shipyards, in later life I saw friends die from the horrible avoidable death of mesothelioma, lung cancer induced by asbestos. Asbestos might be banned but heading out to earn your crust of bread is still a dangerous activity. Accidents at work can and do cause death and serious injury and there is still a host of industrial diseases that plague the workers as they struggle for a decent living, this will not end until the workers control all of the means of production and distribution within the system we need to survive. Capitalism, in its necessity for profit will never eliminate these problems for the workers.

         We have come through the start of the industrial age and moved on to the hi-tec age, but every move into every industry comes with its on particular problems. Practically every industry is linked to an industrial disease. We have silicosis, lung disease prevalent among stone masons, potters grinders etc.. Then there is pneumoconiosis, mainly among coal miners, caused by breathing in fine coal dust and carbon dust. Arc-welders are at risk of manganism, manganese poisoning brought on by exposure to the toxic effects of the fumes from welding rods melting as the are used. Painters are at risk from neurological deficits from solvent‐exposure, which include impaired colour vision, cognitive defects, tremor and loss of vibration sensation. There are many more links with occupation and disease, but we are seldom told of these dangers when you apply for the job. Health and safety regulations go some way to protect workers from these dangers but usually these measures are re-active and only come after years of suffering and campaigning.
         As a young man starting my trade in the Clydeside shipyards in the 1950’s, I was ignorant of the dangers of asbestos, and as it was widely used, all of us were exposed to the horror of death from mesothelioma, an asbestos induced incurable cancer. It was not that the dangers of this substance wasn’t known, medical papers had been written about the danger from asbestos exposure as far back as the 30’s, but it continued to be used up to and including the 60’s. The employers didn’t abandon asbestos willingly, it took campaigning and legislation to finally attempt to get rid of this killer substance. That is the pattern in most of industries, its dangers are only restricted by campaigning and legislation. The profit motive drives industry, not the well being of the employee. Most industries can be made safe, but it usually requires investment in safety equipment and training and that costs money which in turn cuts into the profit. So safety in industries will always come lower down the ladder, and as times get harder, corners are cut in safety to prevent cuts in profit. The economic system we have at present does not lend itself to the welfare and well being of the workers, only when the workers control all the industries will their well being be at the fore front of production.

WHEN THE TIME-BOMB GOES OFF.

The bike just sits there,
dust covering its lovely sheen,
puffing up the Fintry Hills
well, it’s no longer my scene.
Y’see, as a Clydeside apprentice
I proudly learnt the tradesman’s skill,
little did I know then
the price, asbestos lungs that kill.
Now I just sit here through the painful day
gasping each mouthful of air, wondering
how can I make the bastards pay.
They new it was a killer
a time-bomb in our lungs
but, because it was so quick and cheap
they firmly held their tongues.
So what, if it cost the workman’s life,
there’s always a couple of new workers
in the care of the worker’s wife.
Please try to understand my anger
as I and others bear their cost,
a slow death from asbestos lungs,
a vibrant life lost.
Anguish for family and friends,
all in the name of profit;
now that really does offend.
Our anger without direction
is a blind archer behind the bow,
we have to use our anger
to smash the status-quo.

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info    

Aberfan.

       In the morning of October 21st. 1966, darkness fell on a small village in Wales, on that day, half the children in Aberfan ended their short lives under a mountain of coal slurry. This was no unavoidable accident, nor some "weird act of god", this was death by industrial quest for profit, and gross neglect of its duty of care. Something that should never been allowed to happen and was avoidable.

 The following extract from Wikipedia:

         The Aberfan disaster was the catastrophic collapse of a collieryspoil tip in Wales on 21 October 1966. The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, and overlaid a natural spring. A period of heavy rain led to a build-up of water within the tip which caused it to suddenly slide downhill as a slurry, killing 116 children and 28 adults as it engulfed Pantglas Junior School and other buildings. The tip was the responsibility of the National Coal Board (NCB), and the subsequent inquiry placed the blame for the disaster on the organisation and nine named employees.
        There were seven spoil tips on the slopes above Aberfan; Tip 7—the one that slipped onto the village—was begun in 1958 and, at the time of the disaster, was 111 feet (34 m) high. In contravention of the NCB's official procedures, the tip was partly based on ground from which water springs emerged. After three weeks of heavy rain the tip was saturated and approximately 140,000 cubic yards (110,000 m3) of spoil slipped down the side of the hill and onto the Pantglas area of the village. The main building hit was the local junior school, where lessons had just begun; five teachers and 109 children were killed in the school.
        An official inquiry was chaired by Lord JusticeEdmund Davies. The report placed the blame squarely on the NCB. The organisation's chairman, Lord Robens, was criticised for making misleading statements and for not providing clarity as to the NCB's knowledge of the presence of water springs on the hillside. Neither the NCB nor any of its employees were prosecuted and the organisation was not fined. 

         

 

          This of course was not the first or the last mass deaths from industrial drive for profit, nor will it ever be the last as long as profit is the driving force for industry.

        Sometimes these avoidable disasters hit suddenly and with mass deaths, Aberfan, Bhopal, but other times that same drive for profit kills much slower and over many many years, the asbestos disaster that is still with us today as people still die from the results of working with this slow killer. These deaths are nothing short of industrial murder.

         Avoidable industrial deaths will continue to blight the lives of millions of ordinary working people as long as industry is driven by the capitalist model of profit, with profit comes avoidable deaths. Not until we the ordinary workers take over the production of all goods will the health and welfare of the people be at the forefront of all working conditions.    

         Until that day we will have to live with more Abefans, Bhopals and Mesothelioma.

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Unhealthy Profit.

        We have come through the start of the industrial age and moved on to the hi-tec age, but every move into every industry comes with its on particular problems. Practically every industry is linked to an industrial disease. We have silicosis, lung disease prevalent among stone masons, potters grinders etc.. Then there is pneumoconiosis, mainly among coal miners, caused by breathing in fine coal dust and carbon dust. Arc-welders are at risk of manganism, manganese poisoning brought on by exposure to the toxic effects of the fumes from welding rods melting as the are used. Painters are at risk from neurological deficits from solvent‐exposure, which include impaired colour vision, cognitive defects, tremor and loss of vibration sensation. There are many more links with occupation and disease, but we are seldom told of these dangers when you apply for the job. Health and safety regulations go some way to protect workers from these dangers but usually these measures are re-active and only come after years of suffering and campaigning.
      As a young man starting my trade in the Clydeside shipyards in the 1950’s, I was ignorant of the dangers of asbestos, and as it was widely used, all of us were exposed to the horror of death from mesothelioma, an asbestos induced incurable cancer. It was not that the dangers of this substance wasn’t known, medical papers had been written about the danger from asbestos exposure as far back as the 30’s, but it continued to be used up to and including the 60’s. The employers didn’t abandon asbestos willingly, it took campaigning and legislation to finally attempt to get rid of this killer substance. That is the pattern in most of industries, its dangers are only restricted by campaigning and legislation. The profit motive drives industry, not the well being of the employee. Most industries can be made safe, but it usually requires investment in safety equipment and training and that costs money which in turn cuts into the profit. So safety in industries will always come lower down the ladder, and as times get harder, corners are cut in safety to prevent cuts in profit. The economic system we have at present does not lend itself to the welfare and well being of the workers, only when the workers control all the industries will their well being be at the fore front of production.

      I wrote that wee article away back in 2013, but think it is always well worth reposting. Though we have mainly moved away from the diseases of the "heavy industries" era, your occupation should still come with a health warning. You just have to think of couriers cycling through busy traffic and breathing their deadly fumes, as one example of modern occupational diseases. sedentary jobs, being immobile for hours, day after day, confined space and pressure and other forms of health hazards. The hi-tec era jobs are not necessarily healthy jobs, and never will be as long as profit is the driving motive for that industry.

More recent research from PubMed:

         There was executed the analysis of morbidity and disability rate in workers with occupational diseases (poisoning) of the Republic of Bashkortostan for the period from 2010 to 2014. There is reflected the sectoral distribution of the relative indices of the occupational morbidity. There are selected factors of labor and the labor process, promoting occupational diseases (OD). The leading place in the structure of primary morbidity is held by OD related to physical overload and functional overexertion of certain organs and systems; the second - by diseases associated with exposure to physical factors; the third - by diseases from exposure to workplace allergens. This is followed by illness (intoxications) caused by exposure to chemical factors, industrial aerosols. The share of OD from exposure to biological agents and professional tumors in total accounts for about 2.0% of all cases of OD revealed for the first time.

Also: 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%22Occupational+Exposure%2Fadverse+effects%22%5BMAJR%5D

      Your health should never be sacrificed  for the benefit of the rich, but always will be, if we stick with the present economic system. 

WHEN THE TIME-BOMB GOES OFF.

The bike just sits there,
dust covering its lovely sheen,
puffing up the Fintry Hills
well, it’s no longer my scene.
Y’see, as a Clydeside apprentice
I proudly learnt the tradesman’s skill,
little did I know then
the price, asbestos lungs that kill.
Now I just sit here through the painful day
gasping each mouthful of air, wondering
how can I make the bastards pay.
They new it was a killer
a time-bomb in our lungs
but, because it was so quick and cheap
they firmly held their tongues.
So what, if it cost the workman’s life,
there’s always a couple of new workers
in the care of the worker’s wife.
Please try to understand my anger
as I and others bear their cost,
a slow death from asbestos lungs,
a vibrant life lost.
Anguish for family and friends,
all in the name of profit;
now that really does offend.
Our anger without direction
is a blind archer behind the bow,
we have to use our anger
to smash the status-quo.

       Poem written many, many years ago when I was diagnosed with pleural plaques, known as the asbestos footprint. Thankfully I'm still cycling, my problems with my cycling are more age related than pleural plaques.

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Asbestos Repeat.

 

       As a young apprentice I worked in the shipyards, when the use of asbestos was wide and lavish. Its effects are still being felt today. To me, to a degree, the asbestos scandal mirrors the coronavirus pandemic, but to a slower degree. There was medical papers written and advice given on the dangers of asbestos as far back as the 20's, but the governments of the world ignored all that and it wasn't until around 1970, that a ban was started to be imposed. This was after countless deaths from the incurable lung disease of mesothelioma, the reason for its continued use, against 50 years of medical advice and lobbying from trade unions, was that it was an excellent insulator and very cheap, in monitory terms, but expensive in human suffering and deaths, to ban it would obviously hurt the economy. Today thousands of people still die from asbestos related illnesses.

      More than 39,000 American lives are lost to asbestos-related disease every year. Asbestos facts and statistics summarize the devastating impact the toxic mineral has had in the U.S. and around the world.

      The same factors are still driving the governments policy today on the coronavirus, it is hurting the economy, so we must get people back to work. So some will die, to the capitalist that is a risk worth taking. Just as deaths from asbestos killed thousands but the economy must be saved, now it is covid19 that is killing thousands, but the economy must be saved.

       It is estimated that an average of 13 people a day in the UK die from conditions caused by previous exposure to asbestos – more than double the number of people who die on the roads.

      The first health fears associated with asbestos were raised at the end of the 19th century. Asbestosis, an inflammatory condition affecting the lungs that causes shortness of breath, severe coughing and other damage to the lung was described in medical writing in the 1920s.

       For how long and how many more times will we tolerate the economy being put before the health and well-being of the ordinary people? Why should we tolerate the price of shares and the profits for millionaires/billionaires to be placed ahead of the life of ordinary people?  Refuse to go anywhere near your employers profit making machine until your are completely satisfied that it is 110% safe for you to do so. My belief is, that safety guarantee will never materialise under the capitalist economic system. Change the system if you wish a safe working environment, that's the only answer worth considering. Generations of ill health and deaths from working conditions must surely by now, have convinced you of that fact.

When the Time-Bomb Goes Off

The bike just sits there,

dust covering its lovely sheen,

puffing up the Fintry Hills

well, it’s no longer my scene.

Y’see, as a Clydeside apprentice

I proudly learnt the tradesman’s skill,

little did I know then

the price, asbestos lungs that kill.

Now I just sit here through the painful day

gasping each mouthful of air, wondering

how can I make the bastards pay.

They new it was a killer

a time-bomb in our lungs

but, because it was so quick and cheap

they firmly held their tongues.

So what, if it cost the workman’s life,

there’s always a couple of new workers

in the care of the worker’s wife.

Please try to understand my anger

as I and others bear their cost,

a slow death from asbestos lungs,

a vibrant life lost.

Anguish for family and friends,

all in the name of profit;

now that really does offend.

Our anger without direction

is a blind archer behind the bow,

we have to use our anger

to smash the status-quo.

 

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk    

We Suffer And Die For Profit To Others.

          It always puzzles me why we tolerate a system where the majority do all the hard graft, and run all the dangers of the job, but hand the bulk of the wealth they create to the few, who do nothing and face none of the occupational hazards, there is something insane about this whole structure. There is always occupational dangers lurking in most jobs, and most could be eliminated but because of the system they are not, as that would cut into the profits for that greed driven few.
INDUSTRIAL DISEASES.
         We have come through the start of the industrial age and moved on to the hi-tec age, but every move into every industry comes with its on particular problems. Practically every industry is linked to an industrial disease. We have silicosis, lung disease prevalent among stone masons, potters grinders etc.. Then there is pneumoconiosis, mainly among coal miners, caused by breathing in fine coal dust and carbon dust. Arc-welders are at risk of manganism, manganese poisoning brought on by exposure to the toxic effects of the fumes from welding rods melting as the are used. Painters are at risk from neurological deficits from solvent‐exposure, which include impaired colour vision, cognitive defects, tremor and loss of vibration sensation. There are many more links with occupation and disease, but you are seldom, if ever, told of these dangers when you apply for the job. Health and safety regulations go some way to protect workers from these dangers but usually these measures are re-active and only come after years of suffering and campaigning.
       As a young man starting my trade in the Clydeside shipyards in the 1950’s, I was ignorant of the dangers of asbestos, and as it was widely used, all of us were exposed to the horror of death from mesothelioma, an asbestos induced incurable cancer, it can lie dormant in the lungs for 60 years or more, before suddenly bursting into action and triggering certain death. I have friends who have died from this slow and painful death. It was not that the dangers of this substance weren’t known, medical papers had been written about the danger from asbestos exposure as far back as the 30’s, but it continued to be used up to and including the 60’s. The employers didn’t abandon asbestos willingly, it took campaigning and legislation to finally attempt to get rid of this killer substance. That is the pattern in most of industries, its dangers are only restricted by campaigning and legislation. The profit motive drives industry, not the well being of the employee. Most industries can be made safe, but it usually requires investment in safety equipment and training, and that costs money, which in turn cuts into the profit. So safety in industries will always come lower down the ladder, and as times get harder, corners are cut in safety to prevent cuts in profit. The economic system we have at present does not lend itself to the welfare and well being of the workers, only when the workers control all the industries will their well being be at the fore front of production.

     I wrote the following little piece many years ago when I was diagnosed with plural plaques, the foot print of asbestos in your lungs. However good fortune smiled on me and I did carry on cycling and still do a wee bit at the grand old age of 85.

 When the Time-Bomb Goes Off

The bike just sits there,

dust covering its lovely sheen,

puffing up the Fintry Hills

well, it’s no longer my scene.

Y’see, as a Clydeside apprentice

I proudly learnt the tradesman’s skill,

little did I know then

the price, asbestos lungs that kill.

Now I just sit here through the painful day

gasping each mouthful of air, wondering

how can I make the bastards pay.

They new it was a killer

a time-bomb in our lungs

but, because it was so quick and cheap

they firmly held their tongues.

So what, if it cost the workman’s life,

there’s always a couple of new workers

in the care of the worker’s wife.

Please try to understand my anger

as I and others bear their cost,

a slow death from asbestos lungs,

a vibrant life lost.

Anguish for family and friends,

all in the name of profit;

now that really does offend.

Our anger without direction

is a blind archer behind the bow,

we have to use our anger

to smash the status-quo.

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

 

All In The Name Of Profit.

It's all in the name of profit.

WHEN THE TIME-BOMB GOES OFF.

The bike just sits there,

dust covering its lovely sheen,

puffing up the Fintry Hills

well,   it's no longer my scene.

Y'see,   as a Clydeside apprentice

I proudly learnt the tradesman's skill,

little did I know then

the price,    asbestos lungs that kill.

Now I just sit through the painful day

gasping each mouthful of air, wondering

how can I make the bastards pay.

They knew it was a killer

a time-bomb in our lungs

but,  because it was so quick and cheap

they firmly held their tongues.

So what,  if it cost the workman's life,

there's always a couple of new workers

in the care of the worker's wife.

Please try to understand my anger

as I and others bear their cost,

a slow death from asbestos lungs,

a vibrant life lost.

Anguish for family and friends,

all in the name of profit:

now that really does offend.

Our anger without direction

is like a blind archer behind the bow,

we have to use our anger

to smash the status-quo.

Perhaps making my dying public,

might provoke righteous indignation

at a system that puts profit

before the health of a nation.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Death From Greed.

     May 18th. a personal anniversary for me. It was ten years ago on May 18th 2003 that I lost a dear friend and comrade John Stewart Simpson, Ian to his friends, destroyed by that vicious killer mesothelioma, (asbestos related lung cancer). A fit 66 year old swimmer and cyclist, in a very short time went from being treated for a bad cough to being diagnosed with with mesothelioma and died six months later. It still hurts.

     This rapid vicious killer is no unfortunate event, no unavoidable accident. The health problems from asbestos were known to the powers that be and being written about in the 30's but UK industry continued to use it up until the 60's. 

Wealth From Asbestos.

Why no righteous anger from the crowd?

Why no public cry for justice?

Can't they hear those shallow gasps?

Can't they see their brother's pain?

Lungs that measured to the task

strength that made the Clydeside name.

Men who by willing force and skill

built the nations wealth

never knowing the final bill

was destruction of their health.

Now dumped on life's ladder's lowest rung

strewn like wreck across this city:

vibrant lives by asbestos stung

deserve more than passing pity.

Why no righteous anger from the crowd?

Why no public cry for justice?

 

     It was continuous lobbying and forced legislation that eventually put a stop to this killer substance being used in UK industry. At no time were the bosses of industry concerned about the health and well-being of the workers. The United Kingdom has one of the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world, largely because asbestos use continued in the UK long after it was banned in other parts of the world. Because of its wide use in shipbuilding, those in shipbuilding are among the people most affected by mesothelioma, and the shipbuilding industry played a large role in the industrial history of the United Kingdom.

The Waiting Game.

Don't tell them it's a killer,

as they work with it to earn their keep.

It's a time-bomb in their lungs,

but, so efficient, so very cheap.

It takes so long to kill

they'll never know who to blame,

They'll probably all be dead

before the couts hear their claim.

It's a time-bomb, it's a killer,

and they knew, ASBESTOS.

       Though banned in the UK in the 60's, asbestos continues to kill, in 2008 in the UK, there were 2,249 deaths from mesothemiola and on average, the UK has more than 2,000 deaths each year from this greed driven killer, mesothelioma. Though deaths from this disease are beginning to decline in younger men, overall deaths are expected to increase by 10-20% over the next 5-10 years. Her we are in 2013 and the unbridled greed of past industries is still killing our people. It's the system friends.

 

WHEN  THE TIME-BOMB GOES OFF.

The bike just sits there,

dust covering its lovely sheen,

puffing up the Fintry Hills

well, it’s no longer my scene.

Y’see, as a Clydeside apprentice

I proudly learnt the tradesman’s skill,

little did I know then

the price, asbestos lungs that kill.

Now I just sit here through the painful day

gasping each mouthful of air, wondering

how can I make the bastards pay.

They new it was a killer

a time-bomb in our lungs

but, because it was so quick and cheap

they firmly held their tongues.

So what, if it cost the workman’s life,

there’s always a couple of new workers

in the care of the worker’s wife.

Please try to understand my anger

as I and others bear their cost,

a slow death from asbestos lungs,

a vibrant life lost.

Anguish for family and friends,

all in the name of profit;

now that really does offend.

Our anger without direction

is a blind archer behind the bow,

we have to use our anger

to smash the status-quo.

ann arky's home.

Industrial Diseases.

Previously posted on my sister blog ANNARKY1.

        We have come through the start of the industrial age and moved on to the hi-tec age, but every move into every industry comes with its on particular problems. Practically every industry is linked to an industrial disease. We have silicosis, lung disease prevalent among stone masons, potters grinders etc.. Then there is pneumoconiosis, mainly among coal miners, caused by breathing in fine coal dust and carbon dust. Arc-welders are at risk of manganism, manganese poisoning brought on by exposure to the toxic effects of the fumes from welding rods melting as they are used. Painters are at risk from neurological deficits from solvent‐exposure, which include impaired colour vision, cognitive defects, tremor and loss of vibration sensation. There are many more links with occupation and disease, but we are seldom told of these dangers when you apply for the job. Health and safety regulations go some way to protect workers from these dangers but usually these measures are re-active and only come after years of suffering and campaigning.
        As a young man starting my trade in the Clydeside shipyards in the 1950′s, I was ignorant of the dangers of asbestos, and as it was widely used, all of us were exposed to the horror of death from mesothelioma, an asbestos induced incurable cancer. It was not that the dangers of this substance wasn’t known, medical papers had been written about the danger from asbestos exposure as far back as the 30′s, but it continued to be used up to and including the 60′s. The employers didn’t abandon asbestos willingly, it took campaigning and legislation to finally attempt to get rid of this killer substance. That is the pattern in most of industries, its dangers are only restricted by campaigning and legislation. The profit motive drives industry, not the well being of the employee. Most industries can be made safe, but it usually requires investment in safety equipment and training and that costs money which in turn cuts into the profit. So safety in industries will always come lower down the ladder, and as times get harder, corners are cut in safety to prevent cuts in profit. The economic system we have at present does not lend itself to the welfare and well being of the workers, only when the workers control all the industries will their well being be at the fore front of production.

 

WHEN  THE TIME-BOMB GOES OFF.

The bike just sits there,

dust covering its lovely sheen,

puffing up the Fintry Hills

well, it’s no longer my scene.

Y’see, as a Clydeside apprentice

I proudly learnt the tradesman’s skill,

little did I know then

the price, asbestos lungs that kill.

Now I just sit here through the painful day

gasping each mouthful of air, wondering

how can I make the bastards pay.

They new it was a killer

a time-bomb in our lungs

but, because it was so quick and cheap

they firmly held their tongues.

So what, if it cost the workman’s life,

there’s always a couple of new workers

in the care of the worker’s wife.

Please try to understand my anger

as I and others bear their cost,

a slow death from asbestos lungs,

a vibrant life lost.

Anguish for family and friends,

all in the name of profit;

now that really does offend.

Our anger without direction

is a blind archer behind the bow,

we have to use our anger

to smash the status-quo.

ann arky's home.