New Ship Recycling Agreement Aimed at Reducing Asbestos Exposure

A new international pact regarding the regulations of ship recycling practices was recently signed by 64 varied nations. Though negotiations regarding the pact took more than five years, the vast majority of countries involved are pleased with the final results.

The call for regulation is largely based on the poor working conditions and environmental practices enforced at points where ships are stripped and dismantled so that they can be sold for scrap. Such duties are often undertaken on the shores of poor countries such as India and Bangladesh.

For years, labor advocates have been voicing concern about physical and medical health problems that plague the workers tasked with recycling these ships. The high amount of asbestos in these ships has been a primary concern. Asbestos, as well as oily waste and other toxic materials, cannot only contaminate nearly workers, but shorelines as well.

To combat the historically lax practices at such deconstruction sites, the new regulation (dubbed the International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships) calls for vessels to maintain and regularly update an inventory of potentially hazardous materials throughout the years of service. This inventory will be provided to recycling facilities at the time of disposal.

Additionally, the convention requests that all workers at recycling facilities will be provided with a wide selection of protective gear to guard against asbestos exposure and other contaminants.

Despite broad consensus among countries involved in the convention, several environmental groups claim the new regulations are not enough. Of particular concern is the fact that shoreline pollution will remain a potential side effect of ship recycling. Some organizations had been pushing for a measure that would have required all ships to be recycled in dockyards, as opposed to on beaches.

Additionally, the pact does not call for the necessity of trained workers in instances where hazardous materials are present.

Source: New York Times

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