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Hazardous Materials on Ships
This document lists some of the most commonly-found hazardous materials found on board ships, especially those that are sent to ship-breaking yards for recycling. Greenpeace is campaigning for the clean recycling of ships, and eventually, for the building of clean ships without the use of hazardous materials.
Asbestos
Asbestos is used, particularly in engine rooms, for its thermal insulation and fire-resistant properties. It is sandwiched between steel plates in the walls or in the doors.
Asbestos is hazardous substance listed in Annex 1 to the Basel convention. It is a major threat to health because when distributed, it breaks into fine fibers, which can be suspended, in the air for long periods. If inhaled, the fibers can lead to fatal diseases such as lung cancer, mesotheelioma and asbestosis. Symptoms of these diseases do not show up for many years. Removal of Asbestos from a ship (or from other installations, for that matter) requires special training, the use of respirators and protective equipments, monitoring and decontamination facilities.
In ship-breaking yards asbestos is removed by workers without any breathing apparatus. It is not disposed of properly, creating a hazard for the larger population. Asbestos fibers travel to the workers’ accommodation through their clothes, lengthening their exposure and exposing others in the same accommodation well.
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Wastes that contain Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) at a concentration level of 50 mg/kg or more are hazardous waste listed in Annex 1 to the Basel convention. Production of PCBs is banned in developed countries since 1982. But PCBs are used in solid form in gaskets, insulation materials and electrical components. They are used in liquid form in transformers, capacitors and in oil in electric motors and hydraulic systems.
Exposure to PCBs is through inhalation, ingestion or absorption through skin. They cause several adverse health effects, including cancer. PCBs are persistent chemicals and they bio-accumulate.
The safe removal of PCBs requires special training and protective equipment. But currently, cables with insulation coating (that contain PCBs) are cut with a blowtorch, releasing PCBs into the confines of a hold in a ship. Once removed from the ship, the cable is burnt and the remains dealt with by hand to obtain the copper wire. Liquid PCBs receive no special management at the ship-breaking yards.
Try-butyl Tin
A Try-butyl tin (TBT) is an organ-metallic substance used to anti foul the hulls of ships. It is one of the most toxic compounds when introduced to the aquatic environment. When a ship is beached, it is run onto the sand at full speed and TBT is ground off and released into the environment. While already banned in many domestic jurisdictions, an international ban on the TBT in anti fouling coatings has been negotiated recently in IMO.
Oil and Sludge
A vessel’s pipe and tanks contain oil and sledges from the fuel and lubricating oils. Oils and fuels poison marine organisms and soil the environment, threatening natural resources. Oils and fuels are toxic to humans and can be inhaled or consumed in contaminated fish or water. They also represent a danger due to fire and explosion. Used oil is listed as hazardous waste in Annex 1 to the Basel Convention. At Alang, however, waste oil is burned on the shore, along with whatever cannot be sold. In Mumbai, it is callously pumped into the sea.
Bilge and Ballast Water
Bilge is water that is heavily contaminated with oil and cargo residues, which has drained to the ship’s bilge. While a ship is being scrapped, there is further water contamination as rainwater and water used for fire control joins it.
Ballast water is water that has been intentionally brought on board to adjust the trim and stability of the ship. This waste-water often contains pollutants. Sometime oil cargo tanks are used for ballast, making the ballast water particularly oily. Ballast water may also contain aquatic organisms brought from another part of world, which threaten the ecological balance in the seas where they are released; and viruses and bacteria, which can transfer to humans.
Heavy Metals
Metals of particular concern that are associated with the shipbreaking industry are toxic heavy metals such as lead (pb), mercury (hg) and cadmium (cd). These are biologically non- essential metal that can cause harm to human health and/or the ecological system. Other metals in the breaking industry are iron, alloys, aluminum and zinc. The above-mentioned materials are persistent and bio-accumulative pollutant that affects human body.
Click here to visit our Document Repository on Shipbreaking
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