It is well known that some paints are toxic. Parents of toddlers make sure that the toys they buy are toxin free and safe to use. Every colour has different components, so their affect on the human body varies. The colours used to paint glass, for instance, have a high rate of oxides, lead and other toxic substances that make them shiny.

K, A Palestinian worker from Kasra (a village near Nablus), has been working for the past three years in the Jordan valley settlement of Ma'ale Efrayim, manufacturing coloured pieces of glass exported to European toy factories. As a result of exposure to toxic chemicals in the factory for the last two years K suffers from different health problems, one of them affected his ability to walk. In addition, K suffers from memory loss and other neurological symptoms. K received medical treatment from Palestinian physicians who weren't able to help him, so he still suffers from severe pain.

The work that K and ten other Palestinians do in the factory requires using special means of safety and protection, such as masks, protective gloves and etc. Given that K and his colleagues, who are in close contact with the paints, don't have any means of protection, they suffer from many side effects such as asthma, appetite loss and mouth sores.

The Israelis have left the factory

There are also Israeli employees at the factory, but they work in departments different from the ones their Palestinian co-workers do. Surprisingly the Israelis are given means of protection.

Tests assessing the pollution rate in the factory were conducted about a year ago. All workers took a blood test, but unlike the Israeli workers, the Palestinian workers never received their blood test results.

Common phenomenon

As in many Israeli factories in the West Bank, the Palestinian workers in this factory don’t receive safe and appropriate working conditions, and are not aware of how dangerous the chemicals they work with are. If only the workers were aware of the dangers they were exposed to, they could have made a more informed choice about their jobs.