The Hindu Business Line : The dark side of the glitter

The use of cadmium helps gold jewellery retain its purity even when melted. But this comes at a heavy price — the health of the artisans who make the jewellery.

When Ina went out to buy a gold chain for her newborn nephew, little did she know there was a dark tale lurking behind her glittering gift. She was convinced about the quality of her delicate gift because it was made with cadmium as the soldering material. Cadmium, according to common knowledge, helps gold jewellery retain its purity even when melted.

And there hangs a tale of toxic cadmium oxide fumes and their effect on artisans working with gold jewellery — a tale that often remains hidden behind all the sparkle and glitter of the precious metal.

"Artisans working on gold jewellery are exposed to poisonous fumes produced when the cadmium, popularly called KDM, is burnt to make the solder. The fumes are carcinogenic or cancer-causing in the long term," points out Mumbai-based Nariman Wadia, who has been associated with the gem and jewellery industry for about 45 years and is now a consultant to the trade.

"Given that consumers are at no risk when they wear gold that has cadmium soldering, the ethical question before the industry is — should we be making our workers sick, while making someone else look beautiful?" questions a representative in the jewellery business. He agreed to speak to Life under conditions of anonymity, since the trade prefers to remain "closed" to public scrutiny.

Global backlash

"But like the `blood diamonds' that rocked global diamond-trading about two years ago — when it was revealed that funds from the sale of diamonds went towards war and atrocities in African countries — the local jewellery manufacturing industry too should watch out," he warns. "It should look at alternatives to cadmium solder, before an international controversy flares up in its face." But the global winds of change don't seem to have reached artisans or employers in India's thriving jewellery sector.

In the heart of a residential colony in Mumbai, a sinewy lane leads up to a steel gate that not only remains locked at all times, but is also double guarded by a man dressed in black from a local security agency. Behind these gates is concealed a little world where several young men and teenagers work their skills into gold and diamond jewellery.

"We don't use cadmium in our jewellery as we sell to a trading house that exports jewellery and, in the global market, buyers are sensitive to the use of cadmium. There is no open ban on the use of cadmium, but there is an unwritten understanding and buyers from the European Union, US and Japan demand cadmium-free gold. So the industry should clean up its process before a worldwide ban is imposed," says the employer at a jewellery manufacturing unit.

"Global buyers are sensitive to ethical issues like the use of child-labour, as we saw with our carpets, and the dyes used in our fabrics were rejected since they were found to be eco-unfriendly. Our gold too will lose its glitter unless manufacturers take measures to improve working conditions for artisans. They work in dingy rooms and are exposed to all sorts of fumes; and there is use of fire. It is an accident waiting to happen," admits another jewellery manufacturer in Mumbai.

Resistance to change

An industry representative points out that local manufacturers use cadmium even though an alternative is available and which is not expensive either. "But we have not applied ourselves to this issue. It is a marginal cost that the manufacturer can bear, but the problem is that the artisans he employs are resistant to change. They are comfortable and familiar with using cadmium. And that will change only if awareness increases and the employers insist on cleaning up the process."

"I have been working on gold for the last 28 years and I have no problems with cadmium. I have heard of the so-called health hazards, but that doesn't affect me. I have to work," says an artisan working in one of the several manufacturing units in Mumbai. Another artisan pipes in: "Most artisans are not aware of the hazards, but we still take precautions like making the cadmium solder in an open space, to prevent people from inhaling the dangerous fumes."

Another exporter of diamond-studded jewellery says that changes are slowly making their way into the industry, as organised players come in and manufacturers look for exports to developed markets like the US, Europe and Japan.

But with India being the largest consumer of gold jewellery, shouldn't the change begin at home?

"The recent moves for hallmarking, through the Bureau of Indian Standards, looks at whether the consumer gets pure gold, as stated by the manufacturer. There should also be checks into ethical practices, such as working conditions for artisans," agrees an industry representative. And it is not as if industry players are not aware of the issues simmering in this business. "The use of young children, the conditions under which they work, the wages they are paid and the dangerous fumes they are exposed to are some of the issues," observes another industry representative.

Labour or skill-training?

But there are people who counter the charge of child exploitation. "I would not like to call it child-labour. The young boy stays on the premises; his food and lodging are taken care of by the employer. He is not paid for the first three years, but he learns a skill while training with us and, tomorrow, he will be skilled enough to be employed by any big house in the business. Some of them even go abroad on the strength of these skills. Isn't that better than leaving these children to beg on the roads? And even if he gets education, is he guaranteed a job," asks a manufacturer righteously.

If the artisan has an expert hand and eye as a setter, he could earn up to Rs 25,000 a month. Otherwise, depending on skills, the salaries range between Rs 3,000 and Rs 8,000 a month, he adds.

Ask Ravi, a new hand, what he thinks of all the fuss over working conditions, and he answers that it does not bother him. The youngster, who claims to be 17 years old, is keen on honing his skills in jewellery-making, for which he left his home in West Bengal to work in Mumbai.

"Consumers in India should question how ethical the manufacturing process is, only then will the industry be forced to change. May be, like in developed markets, they can start by demanding cadmium-free gold. But that is a demand that only the consumer can make. A marginal loss in the weight of gold (if cadmium is not used) is but a small price the consumer pays for the health of the artisan making the jewellery," an exporter points out.

Golden rule

Info nuggets from the World Gold Council site on cadmium:

"Cadmium has traditionally been used in jewellery solders as it confers good melt fluidity and lowers the melting range. Unfortunately, it is now known that there is a serious toxicity problem with cadmium... on melting the solder, it readily boils off and forms a vapour that reacts with air to form poisonous cadmium oxide fume."

Exposure to these fumes can cause "long-term health problems for workers in the jewellery industry, including scrap refiners. This includes damage to lungs, kidneys and blood."

Because cadmium accumulates in the body, many countries have regulations that limit human exposure to cadmium. When cadmium escapes into the atmosphere, it is believed to cause environmental pollution; it can also enter the food chain.

Some governments have either banned the use of cadmium in solder alloys or placed severe restrictions on its use in workshops. As a result, many jewellers now use `cadmium-free' solders. These may require a small adjustment to the soldering technique, but are safer.

Pictures by Paul Noronha

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