China sets targets to fight pneumoconiosis

BEIJING - China has issued an action plan on the prevention and treatment of pneumoconiosis, vowing to fulfill the plan's targets by the end of 2020.

Pneumoconiosis, a class of lung diseases where inhalation of dust causes interstitial fibrosis, accounts for nearly 90 percent of all occupational disease cases in the country, said Li Bin, deputy head of China's National Health Commission (NHC), adding that the action plan aims to reduce the number of new pneumoconiosis patients.

The action plan pledges that by the end of 2020, authorities must grasp the dust hazards situation of related employers and the employers' reporting of the health of occupational pneumoconiosis patients to supervisors.

Marked progress will be made in the rectification and control of dust hazards in industries including coal mining, non-coal mining, metallurgy and construction materials, according to the action plan.

The work-related injury insurance must cover more than 80 percent of employees working in these industries, it says.

The action plan also specifies major tasks, including enhancing treatment and relief for pneumoconiosis patients and beefing up supervision and inspection on employers with high risk of dust hazards.

The action plan was jointly formulated by 10 departments including the NHC, the National Healthcare Security Administration and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.