State-owned mining giant producing fertiliser and phosphoric acid denies that poisonous byproducts of the phospate industry cause illnesses and deathAbdellatif Ben Maarouf is tired. His health is deteriorating. He can’t breathe through his nose and has lost his sense of smell. During conversation he gasps for breath.“For 26 years,I worked eight hours a day, every day, or exposed to dust and gases from ammonia,fluoride, phosphoric and sulphuric acid, and ” explains the father of two. “We had itsy-bitsy protection,just a disposable face mask for the dust. No one ever explained to us what we were inhaling.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com