The Most dangerous job
in the world

-- A woman is paid $50 a month to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.  She packs gunpowder by hand into cardboard tubes, making firecrackers the way it has been done for centuries.  An 11-year veteran of the job, she knows such work punishes mistakes harshly.   ``We have to be very careful handling the powder,'' she said.  ``We lift it up and put it down very slowly, and carry a small amount each time, though it takes more time.''

Fatal explosions, often in illegal workshops, are reported nearly every day in China.  Despite a crackdown by authorities, tons of illegal and unsafe fireworks make it to market, where they kill or injure unsuspecting customers.

Fireworks are banned in Beijing and at least 20 other major Chinese cities for safety reasons.  Many people ignore the ban, however, and streets in major cities are already crackling through the night with illegal firecrackers.  Last week, authorities seized and destroyed more than 1,000 pounds of illegal fireworks.

Despite the danger, China lets licensed manufacturers continue because, at a time when state companies are laying off millions of workers, their trade is, well, booming.    Most of the workers are women.  Management prefers them to men, believing they have a lighter, safer touch with explosives.

Metal might strike sparks and cause an explosion, so most of the tools are wooden. To minimize danger further, workshops have no heat and little electricity.

 

A woman being pulled from the rubble after a fireworks factory explodes.

 

 

Pingxiang -- China
Firecracker blast kills 16 women

2004 -- Sixteen women workers have been killed in an explosion at a fireworks factory in eastern China's Jiangxi province, the official Xinhua agency says.

At least three other workers were hurt in the blast, the cause of which has not been determined.

The blast in the city of Pingxiang reportedly scattered gunpowder and left a crater measuring 80 square metres.

China's government has tried to crack down on illegal and unsafe firework factories.

Many of the workers are poverty-stricken villagers who endure great health risks.

Attempts to regulate the firework industry were made three years ago, when an explosion in a village in Jiangxi province killed 42 people, many children amongst them.

China is the world's largest manufacturer of fireworks.

 

Baojing Village -- China
Fireworks blast kills 5 in Anhui

2005 -- An explosion took place at a fireworks factory in east China's Anhui Province Thursday, killing five women on the spot and leaving two others seriously wounded, according to available information reaching here Friday.

The blast, occurred at around 16:00 p.m. Thursday, toppled three workshops of the factory and five female workers aged from 30 to 60 were killed. It also injured scores of others working outside the workshops, and two of them seriously wounded. Those injured have been rushed to a hospital in Sanhe Township of Feixi County.

The factory director, surnamed Zhang, said the blast might be resulted from the friction of gunpowder. The fireworks factory was located in Baojing Village of Hangfu Town in Shucheng County, Anhui Province.

Right after the blast, officials from the provincial and local governments rushed to the spot to organize rescue operation and probe. A probe group was formed with a deputy director of the Anhui Provincial Safety Supervision Bureau as its head.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.