Honduras Sweat Shop Deaths Soar
Production and death grow hand-in-hand at assembly plants in Honduras with three out of every ten women forced to seek medical aid due to respiratory disorders.

An investigation proved that assembly plant, or maquila in Spanish, workers are increasingly victims of skin illness, gastritis and colitis due to air pollution with fabric dust and poor ventilation.

Honduras also lacks epidemiological and early detection programs for communicative illnesses like TB, says a report on female maquila workers in that country.

Other afflictions include occupational musculo-skeletal disorders in places where the average working day is ten hours without recess.

Researcher Zoila Madrid said such stress in a repetitive job generates most diseases in maquila workers, which constitute 58 percent the Honduran population who lack social security.