Deadly Smoke: Feeding Children Kills Cafeteria Staff

Soo Hyoun Lim's classmate doing a campaign inside the Yongsan International School’s cafeteria with the poster.By Soo Hyoun Lim and Hyeonuk HwangSeoul, Sep 28 2022 (IPS) During my summer break this year, I read a news article about five school cafeteria workers who had died of lung cancer. Due to these incidents, a union of cafeteria workers, wearing their aprons and holding their lunch trays, held a protest in front of the President’s office on a scorching summer day. And it made us think about the devastating working conditions for the school lunch employees. Isn’t it so disheartening that we eat our school lunch at the expense of their health? Did you know that one cafeteria staffer has to provide 150 student servings in a substandard kitchen with poor ventilation systems? That’s why they get lung cancer. While cooking, they inhale gasses, known as cooking fumes or cooking smoke. This substance contains “carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and several toxic volatile hydrocarbons,” which has caused 3.8 million people to die prematurely from this “indoor air pollution”. So installing a proper ventilation system in a school cafeteria is crucial to protect the kitchen staff. Soo Hyoun Lim (right) and friend campaign for safe working environments for cafeteria workers at Yongsan International School’s cafeteria. But why isn’t there a proper ventilation system in the first place?  Initially, South Korea did not have a school cafeteria. All school children bro...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Asia-Pacific Education Health TerraViva United Nations Youth Thought Leaders IPS UN Bureau IPS UN Bureau Report Source Type: news