The corpses are incinerated at the place of work, far from their families, and remain forever anonymous. The workers know nothing of the insidious risks to their health through breathing toxic fumes and asbestos dust both on the job and in their sleeping quarters close by. Commonly occurring illnesses are considered a matter of fate. Lead accumulates in the blood and bones after inhalation or ingestion. It can cause anaemia and is toxic to the nervous system and to the kidneys.
Arsenic exposure can result in lung, skin, intestinal, kidney, liver and bladder cancers.
It can also cause damage to blood vessels. Inflammation of nervous tissue caused by arsenic can result in loss of feeling or paralysis. Disfiguring growths may also appear on the skin of exposed humans. TBTO is acutely poisonous, and is also genotoxic. Exposure can also suppress the immune system.