Barefoot, shirtless men work to make manhole covers for New York's Department of Environmental Protection and Con Edison. The only safety equipment, are a few eye goggles.

Officials at Con Edison were very surprised by the photographs and said that he takes safety of worked very seriously. Now they are rewriting international contracts to include safety requirements.

Inside the foundry, men wearing sandals carry iron ore in baskets on their heads and place in the smelter. On the ground floor, barefoot, shirtless men with big ladles and catch the molten metal. There are a few women working there, but mostly men work there.

New York officials say that state law requires the city to buy only the cheapest manhole covers that meet the requirements.

A average man in India working at a foundry makes a few dollars a day, whereas an American foundry worker makes 25 dollars an hour.

Executives at Shakti Industries foundry say that despite the looks, there have been no accidents. But labor activists in India say that the number of injuries is much higher and many injuries are nor reported.

So, the next time you step on a manhole cover, please take a second and think how it was made...

via NYTimes