References to occupational exposures Challenges faced by workers disposal sites, due to their hand-to-mouth behaviour, are among the most vulnerable groups, as soils and dusts are generally contaminated with lead and other toxics. In Latin America, many of these recycling and recovery operations take place in communities, not in clearly defined waste dumps. Children are found with record levels of toxic chemicals in their bodies at such waste sites. Young girls, still developing and approaching the age of reproduction, work as collectors or vendors in highly toxic environments. At La Chureca in Managua, Nicaragua, approximately half of all waste pickers were less than 18 years old. 134 In Guiyu, China, about 80 per cent of children suffer from respiratory diseases, and there has been a surge in cases of leukaemia and concentrations of lead in blood are high. The Special Rapporteur offered various recommendations to stakeholders to protect the rights of the child from toxic chemicals, including that: States should eliminate work by children where they are exposed to toxics and ensure safer alternative employment, and monitoring of children affected. States should ensure that children affected receive the necessary treatment and compensation. States should also ensure that women and girls of reproductive age are guaranteed protection from occupational exposure to toxics and the substitution of toxics with safer alternatives as the primary means of prevention; International organizations should integrate the problem of toxic chemicals, pollution and waste into the work of their organization, based on their respective competencies, and monitor and report on the issue; and increase efforts to reduce the exposure of children and women of reproductive age to toxic chemicals, particularly of child workers and those living in high-risk situations. “Mission to Republic of Korea” During the mission, the Special Rapporteur examined the rights of workers who may develop diseases or other injuries on account of their exposure to hazardous substances. Workers in the Republic of Korea have the right to a healthy workplace. (A/HRC/33/41/Add.1) (2016, mission carried out The report notes a long history of illness among workers in the electronics sector as a result of in 2015) exposure to toxic chemicals. For example, a study of nearly 32,000 workers at IBM between 1969 and 2001 showed that “male manufacturing workers were around 60-80 per cent more likely to have died from cancers of the kidney, skin, brain and central nervous system”. Given the prominent role of electronics in the Republic of Korea in recent decades, the Special Rapporteur paid close attention to how the Government and businesses were protecting and respecting the human rights of workers in the electronics sector to a safe and healthy workplace. In the electronics industry, chemical substances are used in the manufacture of devices, including in displays, semiconductor chips, casings and batteries and other component materials. There is a significant likelihood that workers may be exposed to hazardous substances, which can lead to serious health impacts such as cancer, infertility, birth defects, respiratory illness and disruption of hormone (endocrine) systems. Former workers in the electronics industry in the Republic of Korea began to be diagnosed with leukaemia around 2005. Yumi Hwang, a former Samsung Electronics employee, died of acute myeloid leukaemia in March 2008. She was diagnosed 20 • Inadequate standards of protection • Exploitation of those most at risk • Inaccessible remedies, justice and accountability • Failures to realize the right to information • Opaque supply chains and the transfer of hazardous work A/HRC/39/48 42 Report