References to occupational exposures of effective inspection mechanisms. In many shipbreaking yards, workers are not provided with personal protective equipment (PPE), such as skin, eye or lung protection, aimed at ensuring the safe handling of hazardous materials or preventing the inhalation of toxic substances. Appropriate PPE for working in specialized areas, such as respiratory protective equipment for work in conditions where there is a risk of oxygen deficiency, is also generally not available. There is usually no equipment for machine safety, fire safety, chemical safety and water safety, and when such equipment exists, it is poorly maintained. With a few exceptions, the vast majority of workers do not receive any information on the hazards or risks to health and safety, nor do they receive any training on how to minimize risks to health and safety at work. Due to the informal nature of working arrangements, workers are not covered by social protection schemes, and do not receive any benefit in case of injury, sickness, temporary or permanent disability in the case of occupational accidents or diseases. Injured workers or relatives of deceased workers receive hardly any compensation for work-related accidents resulting in fatal injuries or permanent disabilities. When compensation is paid, the amount received is generally much lower than the amount stipulated by the law. In case of accidents, employers usually pay for first treatment and immediate medical expenses, but not for long-term medical treatment or for expenses linked to chronic work-related diseases. If a worker is affected by an occupational disease, he is often unable to retain or find further employment opportunities in any of the yards. There is no written contract of employment for semi-skilled and unskilled workers. They can be fired at any time with no prior notice, and without the need to indicate any reasonable ground. The absence of job security, due to the lack of formal work contracts, and the climate of intimidation prevailing in the yards de facto prevent workers in shipbreaking yards from exercising their right to form trade unions for the promotion and protection of their economic and social interests and their right to collective bargaining. Semi-skilled and unskilled workers usually live in makeshift facilities built by yard owners on, or just outside, the yards. The shacks are often congested, and lack basic sanitation facilities, electricity and even drinking water. Workers are too often not provided with proper cooking or eating facilities in the yards, and are compelled to go to nearby shops and tea stalls for their food. Due to their proximity to the yard, workers continue to be exposed to toxic and dangerous substances like asbestos and hazardous fumes at their sleeping quarters. There are no comprehensive statistical data on persons who died or developed disabilities as a result of occupational accidents in the shipbreaking industry. The authorities rarely keep records on accidents occurring at shipbreaking facilities. In Bangladesh, for example, neither the yard owners nor public authorities appear to collect statistical data about deaths and disabilities caused by accidents at shipbreaking yards. According to media reports, more than 400 workers were killed and 6,000 seriously injured between 1985 and 2005 in Bangladesh, but NGOs estimate that at least 1,000 people have died in Chittagong due to accidents over the last decades. When official figures exist, they appear to be largely underestimated. According to official figures, for example, there were 434 incidents at the Alang yards between 1996 and 2003, killing 209 workers; Challenges faced by workers A/HRC/39/48 26 Report