Mining Families: Occupational Diseases and Intergenerational Impact

Abstract

What happens when the informal worker engaged in the mining of minor minerals,
deprived of state support, falls ill, and after prolonged suffering succumbs to his illness?
Mining is a hazardous occupation causing accidents and incurable occupational
diseases. This research employs a mixed methods design to study the intergenerational
impact on families engaged in small-scale artisanal mining and ravaged by occupational
diseases like silicosis in Rajasthan, India. The dimensions of vulnerability are used to
explore the impact on various generations of family members engaged in mining. The
paper concludes with implications for social work practice to prevent the reproduction
of vulnerability.

10.32444/IJSW.2022.83.4.501-516