Ship Breaking : Environmental and Health Hazard

Ship breaking or ship demolition involves breaking up of ships for scrap.
Until the late twentieth century, ship breaking took place in port cities in the "First World," including the United States. Today, however, most ship breaking yards are in developing nations, principally Bangladesh, China, and India, due to lower labor costs and less stringent environmental regulations dealing with the disposal of lead paint and other toxic substances. However, there are a few "breakers" in the United States that still operate.

India is becoming a graveyard for the dying ships. And so it is, for the workers of the shipyards too. Ship breaking is also environmentalists’ nightmare. Toxic materials, most of which are highly hazardous, are dumped in the ship-breaking yards of India. The most tragic part of the story is the fate of the workers who are facing fatal occupational hazards. Not to forget, India is the one of the six surviving ship-breaking nations in the world, along with China, Bangladesh, Turkey, Pakistan and Myanmar.

Clemenceau, the French flagship carrier coming to Alang Ship breaking yard in Gujarat has attracted world wide attention. It was decommissioned from service many years ago and was harboured in the Toulon military harbour for the last seven years like a mammoth ghost frame of steel weighing about 26,000 tonnes. This ship is full of asbestos (around 40-50 tonnes), PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), TBT (tributyltin), lead, mercury and other toxic chemicals, which France and no other European country is willing to or able to scrap due to expensive environmental costs.

Asbestos, being a leading contributor to pollution is the main cause of the controversy. Though Crocidolite asbestos, one of the six kinds of naturally occurring aluminum fibers is banned in India, it can still be found in old insulation material and old ships that come from other countries for dismantling in India. But in the European Union, Chrysotile Asbestos has been classified as a Category-1 carcinogen. It has been responsible for over 2,00,000 deaths in the United States. A recent study shows in Western Europe alone, past asbestos exposure will cause a quarter of a million deaths from Mesothelioma (a cancer) over the next thirty-five years. The number of lung cancer deaths caused by asbestos is at least equal to the number of Mesothelioma deaths.

Migrant workers dismantle the ships with their bare hands. Almost one out of every three workers suffers from cancer making ship-breaking one of the deadliest industries in the world. Even their sleeping quarters are not free from danger. Many are also injured or killed by suffocation or explosion related mishaps. The saddest part is that the workers are mostly temporary and are not covered under any labour benefits.

Generally, ships are broken on the sea coast, by the river-mouth. Hazardous materials mix up with cesspool, which carries the pollutants to the river water as well as in the sea. The soil and water of the surrounding area becomes heavily contaminated threatening the marine eco-system. One can easily find the garbage dump outside the dock consists of metal scraps, wastes and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The agricultural land and the health of the residents of adjoining villages also suffer heavily. Ballast water, which is used to maintain the balance of the ship while sailing, also pollutes the coastal area with oil, biocides and heavy metals. After 25-30 years ships end their sailing life. These ‘End of Life Vessels’ are sold and dismantled to recover the valuable steel. About 95% of the ship consists of steel. Annually, about 600-700 large sea-vessels are brought to Asian countries for breaking them into scrap. In 2001, the total number of vessels (608) sold for scrap totalled steel of 28 million dwt. This marks a yearly growth of nearly 25%, according to E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers. Also, a large chunk of India’s steel demand is met by this non-recognised industry.

On the other hand, the migrant labourers working in the ship breaking are not recognised by any labour laws. According to Dr. S K Dave of National Institute of Occupational Health Ahmedabad (NIOH), there is inadequate or no health infrastructure to look after the health related problems of these workers. Nor do we have a clear number of deaths due to occupational health hazards and asbestos related death of the workers. These workers could be saved by following some simple industrial safety measures like using gloves, gas-masks and similar protective gears.

Obviously, the only safe way to demolish a ship would be in a shipyard. However, the last ship to be scrapped in the UK was over a quarter of a century ago. Usable facilities still exist in Spain and Turkey and Australia has undertaken a feasibility study to establish a facility. The EU is also doing a study. China which until 1993 undertook half of the scrapping in the world, dropped out of the market when stricter environmental laws were introduced. Although a ship can be scrapped in two weeks in a yard as opposed to over six months on a beach, it is unlikely that industrialized countries will move back into the business as the breaking up of ships also presupposes a market for scrap steel near the ship yard.

First global conference to combat shipbreaking :

The debate culminated in 1999 with the first international conference (11)on ship-breaking which failed to reach agreement on the points for discussion(12). Among proposals aimed at producing a solution were the following:
Design improvement of vessels that would not only make scrapping ships less labour intensive, but also environmentally friendly and profitable.
Consideration of international duration limitations on vessel life cycles.
The establishment of a "Global Scrapping Endowment Fund" in which Shipbuilders would include as part of the construction costs a cash payment to the fund in the amount of the expected costs for the ships eventual demolition.
A 'Global Scrapping Tax `Fund' in which taxes would be levied on every ship (according to size and weight) in operation across in globe.
Require ship builders to reacquire control of a vessel when it is due to be demolished and to accept responsibility for the safe and environmentally sound scrapping of each ship

1. Hazardous or Harmful Factors in Ship Scrapping

• Asbestos

• Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

• Lead

• Chromates

• Mercury

• Fumes of welding & cuffing

• Radiation

• Noise

* Vibration

• Air pollution

• Low-level radium sources

• Organic liquids ( Benzene etc.)

• Battery, Compressed gas cylinders,firefighting liquids, etc.

• Chemical materials • Work using plasma and gas torches

• Explosive(s) • Work using cranes and lifting equipment

• Saws, Grinders and Abrasive cutting wheels

• Accident factors: falling, upsetting, electric shock, etc.

Nandkishore Gitte