Fact
File
Ship-breaking
industry
Strict
law and appropriate guidelines are essential
Most
often than not the ship-breaking industry in Chitagong
makes headlines. The industry is beset with many problems.
There are accidents and deaths. It is also blamed for
polluting the environment. Despite complaints, the industry
is thriving.
As
per the 1995 environment law, the activities related to
ship-breaking can be categorised as moderate pollutant.
However, environment activists claim that ship-breaking
poses serious threat to environment.
In
the developed world ship-breaking is carried out in three
ways - berth method, block method and high-tech cutting
method. These methods are not harmful to environment.
But in Bangladesh the ship-breaking industry uses the
discarded old method known as beachin method, which is
quite harmful to environment.
This
method is used for quick profit. The ship-breaking industry
involves dismantling of old ships so the iron and steel
can be used as scraps. There are solid, liquid and gaseous
wastes in every old ship. Since there is no proper guidelines
for the ship-breaking business there is no system of qualitative
assessment of the level of pollution in these wastes.
Deposits
of burned or used oil make its way into the sea damaging
or harming the marine resources, including fish. The oil
also harms food chain, migration and aquatic birds. Many
birds cannot fly because of the heavy layers of oil and
thus die.
Paints
in the ships contain chlorine, zinc, copper, lead, PBC
and chemicals, which are bad for environment. Ships also
use heat-preventive chemicals that can cause cancer. The
use of this chemical is banned worldwide. This chemical
mixes into air when a ship is broken and can affect human
lungs.
Ships
have many batteries they use. The batteries contain lead,
nickel and sulfuric acid. Besides, anode is used in which
there are zinc, lead and cadmium. There is copper and
PVC in electric cables. These electric cables are normally
burned to get the metal inside. When PVC is burned it
creates dioxyn gas that spreads in the air threatening
the environment.
These
chemicals often spill over into seawater and get deposited
in the soil. There is thus a danger that the chemicals
make way to food, which through magnification travel to
human body. This can be responsible for diseases.
In
1990, a study was carried in Canada to see how harmful
ship-breaking can be to the environment. In the area of
ship-breaking it was found that the existence of lead
in the air was much above the Canadian standard of safe
level. Workers tested under the project reported higher
level of lead in their blood.
A
similar research was done in Taiwan in 1989. Higher level
of lead was found also in the blood of Taiwanese workers
who were tested under the project. In a study in Bahrain
researchers found TBT in the neighborhood of a ship-breaking
industry in 19992.
In
another study in 1995, TBT was found in fish in areas
close to ship-breaking grounds. Researches have shown
that high level of TBT exists in fish. Several other researches
have produced similar results.
Many
argue that the economic benefits from ship-breaking business
are far greater than the pollution caused by it. Others
dismiss the theory as nonsense. Environment activists
insist that what harms the environment cannot be good
for the economy even though there can be short-term revenues.
Says
Prof. Noman Ahmed Siddiqui, who teaches marine science
at Chittagong University, "The government and other
affiliated organisations must remain alert against this
type of pollution-causing activity. There must be clear-cut
guidelines before giving go-ahead signal to ship-breaking
industry. Besides, the government and International Maritime
Organization should work together in formulating laws,
rules of procedures and guidelines for ship-breaking.
There has to be constant monitoring.
Source:News
Network.
