Constructing rules for dismantling ships - Hazardous Waste

Environmental Health Perspectives, Nov, 2001 by John Tibbetts

Labor groups, environmental activists, and shipping experts have begun finalizing international guidelines that would reduce threats from toxic substances released during the ship scrapping process and would protect the health and safety of laborers who dismantle ships. In June 2001, government representatives and stakeholders in the ship dismantling industry gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, to develop the new guidelines.

The meeting was organized by the United Nations Environment Programme under the auspices of the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. The International Labour Organization, the International Maritime Organization, the International Chamber of Shipping, and several environmental nongovernmental organizations, particularly Greenpeace and the Basel Action Network, are participating in efforts to refine and support the guidelines. Guideline preparation drew largely from information from the International Maritime Organization Marine Environment Protection Committee on ship recycling and from the International Chamber of Shipping standard inventory of potentially hazardous materials aboard vessels and code of good practice for shipowners.

The 89 pages of Basel Convention draft guidelines are being established at a crucial time in the shipping industry. A dramatic expansion in international maritime trade has led to a corresponding increase in ship scrapping. With an average sea life of 20-25 years, an estimated 500-700 merchant vessels are expected to be dismantled every year for the next 15 years.

The guidelines will introduce worldwide principles for retiring, selling, and dismantling obsolete ships. They will identify potential contaminants and prevent their release, and introduce improved measures for emergencies and accidents. They will encourage sorting parts for reuse, recycling, and disposal. Finally, they will also address the construction and operation of ship scrapping facilities.

Ship scrappers are exposed to extremely hazardous working conditions. "There are chemical, physical, biological, ergonomic, and psychosocial [such as anxiety due to the dangerous work environment] risks present at all stages of the work process," says Paul J. Bailey, an International Labour Organization senior technical specialist. "Most workers, and to some extent employers, are unaware of the long-term effects of exposure to toxic fumes from cutting operations."

Dismantling one large vessel can require removing several tons of hazardous wastes including persistent organic pollutants such as mercury, lead, polychlorinated biphenyls, and asbestos. In the discussion paper "Is There a Decent Way to Break Up Ships?" published online by the International Labour Organization in 2000, Bailey notes that other occupational hazards of ship scrapping include exposure to lead, chromates, radiation, and explosives. The dismantling process not only threatens the health of workers but can also introduce pollutants to the groundwater and air of nearby communities.

The guidelines encourage future ship design that limits hazardous materials, notes Pierre Portas, a senior program officer for the Secretariat of the Basel Convention. "A critical element is the preparation of ships for dismantling," he says. "Decontamination is a prominent feature, and cleanup activities will reduce downstream adverse effects at the dismantling yards."

The ship scrapping industry is located primarily in developing nations where labor is inexpensive, and environmental laws--if they exist--may be inadequate or unenforced. In many countries, ship dismantlers work unsupported by any worker safety guidelines or collective bargaining, according to Bailey. India is the world leader in ship dismantling at 38%, followed by China at 25%, Bangladesh at 19%, Pakistan at 7%, and the rest of the world at 11%, according to the International Maritime Organization.

Worker and employer education is an essential component in safeguarding worker health, says Bailey. "Even where appropriate personal protective equipment is available, it is often not worn," he says, both because of lack of worker education and the extreme heat and humidity of the work environment. "If hazardous material could be clearly identified and its location marked on the ship, workers would find it easier to use the appropriate protective equipment, thereby reducing risk." Laborers also need instruction on working safely at steep heights, he says.

Portas expects guideline approval by the Basel Convention's Technical Working Group by mid-2002. The sixth meeting of the conference of the parties to the Basel Convention will consider final adoption of the guidelines in December 2002.